Mnemonic
by VampireQueenAkasha
Summary: TFP: AU. Arcee encounters a familiar face and it opens old wounds. When he loses his memory and seeks help, she finds herself struggling with her emotions. The "new" Barricade is everything that a femme could ask for in a mech, but can she keep it that way or will she be forced to make another difficult decision? BarricadeXArcee
1. A Familiar Face

**Mnemonic**

**Disclaimer: **This idea has utterly PLAGUED me from the start of Barricade being announced in the Prime game. The game hasn't been released as of yet, but dammit, I can't wait. So let's keep this fic at an AU status, just to be safe. Hell, crack pairings are definition of AU. LOL. Anyway, there may be some little naughty bits in here, but we'll see where that goes. This is based off of his design and since I really hated how they disposed of some of the cast, it'll take place between season one and two.

_"The heart that truly loves never forgets."_

-Unknown Proverb

_"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."_

-Kevin Arnold

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"So much for closure."_

-Arcee, Transformers Prime

**A Familiar Face**

The sound of laser fire was loud in the echoing mouth of the cave.

The Autobots had taken cover behind rubble while the Eradicons took shots at them, protecting their stash of Energon deposits. Several of them went down from the Autobot fire, but more just continued coming their way. They were endless and showed no mercy; the Autobots were already tiring by now and they couldn't keep up with the fight forever. Arcee however was determined to find Airachnid and silence her once and for all.

"Arcee, fall back!" Optimus commanded.

Arcee had snapped out of her momentary daze to look over her shoulder as her comrades began retreating into the ground bridge. She couldn't very well retreat after all they had worked on to get to this point.

Instead of following the command, she surged into battle.

"Arcee!" Optimus shouted.

She transformed and raced through the chaos of laser fire, dodging each and every attack that came her way. Finding Airachnid would have been simple if it wasn't for the attacks that nearly blinded her. Once she found a rock surface, she took cover and transformed back, readying her weapons.

"Autobot...come out and play..."

Arcee peered over the rock surface and could see a jagged black and violet shape stalking toward her. The Decepticon bore similar colors and structure to the Eradicon drones, but was slightly taller and she could see that he transformed into an Earth police vehicle. But there was also something else about him that made her hesitate to open fire. Arcee hated the concept of hesitating in battle for any reason, but she could not help herself.

The same slow realization crept on the Decepticon's face as the harshness melted away a mere fraction. His lips parted slightly, revealing sharp denta and those bright violet optics flickered with mild realization. He too hesitated for a moment before uttering a rugged, gruff snort.

"Arcee?" he said.

She squinted at him, blinking in confusion and uncertainty. "Barricade?"

Then, Barricade looked over his shoulder as Megatron issued a command to his troops. He gave Arcee a parting scowl before turning and retreating. Arcee watched as the Decepticons made their way to the outside of the mine before being beamed up into the Nemesis. She rushed out of the mouth of the mine and stared up at the ship as it drifted away with the bounty of Energon in tow. The other Autobots observed the scene as well before Optimus looked down at her.

"Arcee, what were you thinking?" he said, in his gentle, yet stern voice, "That was dangerous and extremely reckless."

Arcee shook her head. "Optimus, if I spend another nanoklick wasting my time trying to play the good guy, no one's going to win this war," she snapped, somewhat coldly; she hadn't really meant it that way, but seeing Barricade left her frustrated and angry, "We're going to keep running and running in circles and lose more of our comrades if we keep trying to beat around the tree."

The Autobots looked confused by the phrase. Bulkhead cleared his vocals and corrected her.

"Uh, I think it's bush," he said.

Arcee glared at him. "What?"

"The human phrase is 'beat around the bush'," Bulkhead said, rather sheepishly, "You said, 'beat around the tree' and-"

"Whatever!" Arcee snapped.

Optimus nodded his head. "At least you were unharmed," he replied, "Let's return home."

Arcee shook her head now. "I can't. I have to pick Jack up from work."

No one had a chance to argue as she had already started driving off.

O

Arcee pulled up in the drive thru of the KO Burger with her hologram set up. "Jack?" she said into the speaker, "Jack, time to go."

Jack's voice piped up. _"I'm almost done. Give me a minute."_

Arcee uttered an impatient grunt and pulled up in front of the building before deactivating her hologram. She reclined in a parking spot while waiting for Jack. Having a moment's reprieve was unfortunate because she couldn't take her mind off of Barricade. Neither one of her comrades did not realize that before the war, the two had a history together. A history that she thought had been put in the back of her mind and long gone.

Barricade was once head of Cybertron Security and they had met on an unfortunate circumstance when Arcee was delivering intelligence reports to Intel. She had been late and was speeding entirely too fast on the streets when he had stopped her. He was older than she was, but being young and naive at the time, Arcee had started dating him afterwards. She remembered that Barricade had been gruff and no nonsense, but he had once had a tender side beneath it all. Even though Arcee wasn't the type for nonsense herself, even she had her time in her youth before war took its toll.

How was he even still alive? The last time she had spoke with Barricade was when they went their separate ways choosing sides. She had thought he was dead after the incident in Kaon. But here he was now on Earth.

"Arcee? Arcee!"

Arcee snapped out of her reverie and noticed that Jack was now standing there. "Oh. Hey, climb on." she said.

He immediately did and they rode off. The entire time, Jack was going on about the carnival coming to Jasper. Arcee had no idea what a carnival was, so Jack took the time to explain and it actually didn't sound so bad.

"I'm thinking of asking Sierra, but..." Jack began. He paused slightly and looked down at Arcee's flickering dials. "Hey, you've been pretty quiet."

"What? No. I'm just listening," Arcee replied, sounding less-than convincing.

Jack made a slightly amused, surprised sound. "Okay. That's new."

"Sorry, kid," Arcee told him, "It's been an off-cycle."

Jack looked a little concerned by the tone in her voice. "Is everything okay at base?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. I just need to take a little ride alone. Is that okay with you?"

They were pulling up to his house, not leaving Jack any time to argue. He climbed off of her and frowned with worry. "Arcee, if something's bothering you, you can tell me," he assured her, "We're partners, remember?"

"Sorry. But I'd really just like to be alone right now," Arcee replied, forcing a smile in her voice, "I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

Jack nodded his head reluctantly. "Uh... Okay."

He watched as she sped away without so much as a second word in. Jack waved her goodbye before walking up the driveway and into his house. His mother was home in the kitchen and she smiled when she saw him.

"Wow, is that my son coming home early?" she said, "I think that's a first in a while."

Jack rolled his eyes with a slightly amused smile and took a plate with a sandwich on it that was sitting on the counter.

"So...anything interesting happen today?" June asked.

Jack was still not used to the idea that his mother knew about the Autobots, but talking about it a lot more made it easier. "Arcee's acting weird tonight," he told her, "I asked her what was wrong and she wanted to be alone about it."

June shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe she's having a monthly."

Jack spat out his sandwich. "Mom!" he insisted, going red in the face, "I don't think that's it!"

"What? Don't they have those?" June asked.

"I'm not going to ask!"

O

Arcee spent the evening riding in silence. It had definitely helped to a small degree as she didn't feel as tense as before. Barricade's presence should not have changed anything. They were at war and he had made his choice. Thinking logically that way made it easier for her. Seeing him again was a momentary shock, but now that she had time to think about it, she felt better for doing so. It was war and he had chose the 'cons.

The sounds of police sirens snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Oh scrap!" she growled.

But when Arcee peered through her mirror, she could see that it was in fact Barricade in his vehicle form, pursuing her through the Nevada highway. Barricade's headlights transformed and shifted; laser pistols emerged and took a shot at her tires. Arcee felt her world spinning as she transformed and skidded across the asphalt. Arcee immediately climbed to her feet and her arms transformed into her guns, aiming them at Barricade as he rolled up to her.

"Well, it's been a long time, Arcee," Barricade rumbled, transforming.

He was roughly the same size as Knock Out and loomed over her, those violet optics flashing with menace. His left arm transformed into a laser pistol and he aimed it at her. For a moment, the two combatants stared one another down. Arcee took the time to study his features; that dark, angular face covered with scars and those lips pursed in a perpetual scowl. Not much had changed about his appearance since she last saw him.

"I thought you were dead," she said, calmly.

"I may have been," Barricade replied, with a roll of his shoulders, "But I guess that didn't make a difference to you, did it?" He lowered his weapon and smiled with a bit of mockery to it. "How's Tailgate these days?"

Arcee felt her chest swell with anger. She charged at him with a fierce yell, guns transforming into her wrist blades and he avoided her attacks as she swung at his chest and face. He grabbed her arms and delivered a punch to her midsection, sending her stumbling across the asphalt again. Arcee uttered a wet grunt and staggered back to her feet. She watched Barricade glare at her venomously.

"You moved on pretty quick," Barricade growled, "But I guess betraying me had its perks, didn't it? He was in close with the Wreckers."

Arcee snarled at him, gripping her abdomen. "You betrayed yourself, Barricade! You chose Megatron!"

"And YOU chose the AUTOBOTS!" he spat, his voice practically piercing the silence, "You made the decision to turn against me, so whatever I do or say, it's all because of you!"

Arcee shook her head. "I always remembered how you put all the blame on everyone but yourself," she snapped, "Everyone was in the wrong, but you. I told you that I wanted us to be together, but you wanted Megatron. You wanted to take the path that he chose for you. So how are you any better than me?"

Barricade uttered a resigned snort. "You were right, Arcee; you do hurt everyone closest to you."

Arcee was surprised by Barricade's sudden confession; he had never been one to admit to his own emotions to anyone. It was a subtle thing, but he confessed it nonetheless. She watched as he transformed and sat there, engine idling.

"You have made an enemy of me, Arcee," he promised, "When we see each other, do not hesitate to shoot."

"Likewise," she said, calmly.

Barricade uttered a snarl and performed a perfect U-turn before speeding back the way he came. Arcee watched him go and felt a sick sensation in her chest.

How much was this war going to take?


	2. When the Mind Wanders

**Mnemonic**

**Disclaimer: **This idea has utterly PLAGUED me from the start of Barricade being announced in the Prime game. The game hasn't been released as of yet, but dammit, I can't wait. So let's keep this fic at an AU status, just to be safe. Hell, crack pairings are definition of AU. LOL. Anyway, there may be some little naughty bits in here, but we'll see where that goes. This is based off of his design and since I really hated how they disposed of some of the cast, it'll take place between season one and two.

_"The heart that truly loves never forgets."_

-Unknown Proverb

_"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."_

-Kevin Arnold

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"So much for closure."_

-Arcee, Transformers Prime

**When the Mind Wanders**

Barricade had been true to his word.

The Autobots received a message by Agent Fowler that the Decepticons were tearing up an oil refinery as they dug their way deep for a supposed Energon deposit. Fortunately, there had been no signs of human activity around and Fowler had sent in an order that no one enter the area. It was in a place that Fowler had called, "Currant" with a small human population to begin with, so it made engaging in combat much easier. The only downside was the fact that the refinery was located on a summit peak, which made it somewhat dangerous.

When they arrived, Arcee was taking shots from Barricade no sooner had she stepped into battle. She had to take cover behind an oil canister.

"Arcee!" Barricade bellowed, "Come out and fight!"

She scowled furiously and emerged from her hiding spot, taking shots with her weapons at the Decepticon. Barricade ducked and rolled, narrowly missing the shots. His footing nearly brought him to the edge of the summit. For a moment, both combatants faced one another in silence, paying no mind to the chaos behind them. Arcee's features were furious and focused where Barricade had a dark, hateful scowl on his face.

"I told you not to hesitate," he warned.

Arcee didn't respond. For some reason, she could not bring herself to shoot.

But the reason suddenly came; Barricade started to raise his weapon and she moved quicker. She took several shots that struck his chest, blasting him back until he fell howling over the cliff. Arcee was frozen for a long time, taking a moment to register the gravity of what she had done. Then, she couldn't stop herself from rushing to the edge. She did not see Barricade at all, only a seemingly endless drop that seemed to go on forever.

"Didn't I tell you, Barricade?" she said, to herself; she looked slightly disappointed with what had to be done, "You'd end up betraying yourself in the end."

Below the summit, Barricade was lying on the edge of another cliff where he had fallen. His optics were darkened, mouth slack and sparks flew from his damaged form. Megatron's voice filled the air from his COM-link, attempting to reach the Decepticon.

_"Barricade, report," _he ordered, _"BARRICADE!"_

His voice fell on deaf audios as Barricade remained immobile through the battle.

O

The Autobots returned to base with their collected Energon from the battle. Optimus was especially relieved that they were able to retrieve some of it after Megatron had issued a command to abandon the refinery. It wasn't really clear as to why he did such a thing, but it was suspected that with the loss of Barricade, Megatron wanted to focus on retrieving his body. Optimus didn't know for sure, but he was glad that everyone came out of it unscathed.

Miko was celebrating the victory with a personal guitar solo at the base. "Autobots one, Decepticons zero!" she declared, strumming her guitar once to emphasis her point.

Arcee just smiled at her antics before Optimus approached her. "Arcee, may I have a word with you?" he asked.

She looked mildly surprised, but for a moment. "Of course."

Optimus and Arcee walked down the corridors of the base alone before he paused and looked at her. His features were gentle, yet obviously troubled.

"Arcee, I know you and Barricade shared a history on Cybertron," he said.

Arcee blinked. "You knew?"

"Yes. I wanted to be absolutely sure that you were fine with his death," he replied.

Arcee seemed to understand what he was saying and she shook her head. "Optimus, Barricade's made his decision to side with the Decepticons," she said, somewhat harshly, "I can't feel anything for him the way I used to. That's not the way things are anymore. Now that he's dead, there's no reason at all to worry about it."

Optimus didn't seem convinced at first. Given Arcee's history of having less control over her emotions regarding past friendships and partners, he wasn't sure if she was really over it. But still, he would give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Very well," Optimus replied.

Meanwhile, onboard the Nemesis, Megatron was angrily berating Knock Out regarding Barricade's disappearance. "How could you not find him?" he bellowed.

Knock Out was standing in front of a computer and warily looked up at the furious Decepticon leader. "Forgive me, Lord Megatron," he said, sheepishly, "But Barricade's signal is spastic. It goes in and out constantly. We can't get a clear enough track on him."

"At least he's still alive," Breakdown pointed out.

Megatron glared at him. "Thank you, Breakdown. The obvious escaped me!"

Breakdown recoiled slightly under Megatron's glare.

"Find him," the Decepticon leader commanded.

O

The next few cycles that passed were easier than anticipated. That evening, Arcee spent her time going on a ride alone. It had been a particularly strange few cycles, but she didn't realize just how better she felt after Barricade had disappeared. Once she had seen him again, it simply reopened old wounds, just like how she had seen Airachnid once more. Now that Barricade was gone, she no longer felt that strange aching sensation in the pit of her internals anymore.

It was unfortunate that things ended up the way they did, but at least she had closure.

_Sorry you made that choice, Barricade..._ she thought.

_"Arcee!"_

Arcee snapped back to reality at the sound of Ratchet's voice. "I'm here. Talk to me."

_"I'm picking up a Decepticon energy signal fifty klicks from your position," _Ratchet told her.

"Alone?"

_"It appears so. The signal strength is weak and...flickering on and off on the scanner," _Ratchet continued, sounding mildly confused, _"It may just be a glitch from this irritating human machinery, but if I were you, I would check it out, just in case."_

"No problem," Arcee said, "I'm on it."

She gunned her engine and took off for the location that Ratchet had indicated via coordinates he had sent. It took her to a junk yard where she transformed and prepared her weapons. She carefully moved through the piles of metal and debris, occasionally glancing up at the sight of the dismantled cars. Arcee scoffed to herself with disgust and shook her head before venturing forward toward the sound of scratching. It led her to a clearing and Arcee emerged with her guns leveled at-

-Barricade?

Arcee thought her very spark had stopped when she saw the black and violet shape crouched in the shadows, shivering and digging at the garbage in a mad attempt to warm his internals. He appeared to be terribly wounded; scratches and dirt covered his body and his optics were wide, unseeing.

"Barricade!" Arcee cried, "How in the name of Primus are you still alive?"

Barricade looked up at her and his optics seemed to widen in fright. She had never seen him look that way before and she had to admit; it was strange. He looked like a frightened sparkling who had lost his parents and couldn't find them. He looked completely lost.

"Wh-Who are you?" he gasped, his voice light and terrified.

Arcee blinked once. Twice. "Are you kidding?" she snapped; she leveled her guns closer to his head, "Don't play games with me, Barricade."

"Who?"

Barricade stared at her so confused and lost; for a spark beat, Arcee felt torn to go to him and inwardly kicked herself for it. _He's just playing you for a fool, idiot! If you even try to go anywhere near him, he'll eviscerate you. _

"Stop playing around!" Arcee barked, "What are you doing here, Barricade?"

Barricade scrambled to his feet, each movement causing him pain. His dark features twisted in agony and he stumbled toward her. Arcee tensed and flashed her weapons with warning. He immediately raised his hands, but lost his balance and fell once more with a grunt of pain.

"Please, I don't know where I am!" he insisted, "This isn't Cybertron. How did I get here?"

Arcee turned and gruffly growled out. "Figure it out yourself." she snapped.

She started to walk away, thinking that Barricade's act was all just a joke. She slowed down a few paces and glanced over her shoulder, watching as he struggled back to his feet and stumbled again. The anger melted away to a slight degree and she took a long sigh before approaching him again. He looked up at her rather pitifully and Arcee suddenly realized that he wasn't joking. Somehow he had no memory of who or where he was.

_What would Optimus do? _

Arcee grumbled when she knew_ exactly_ what he would do. She stood up and leveled her weapons at him.

"Okay, stand up," she ordered.

Barricade immediately climbed to his feet at the command. It was difficult for him to stand as his damages looked very severe. Most of his joints creaked and whined from the effort and he seemed to flinch every now and again.

"Turn around-No, slowly."

Barricade once again complied and turned slowly, letting Arcee get a good look at the extent of his damages. Somehow he had survived that fall and made it out of the summit in mostly one piece, though she couldn't imagine how.

"Okay, you can't go running around like this," she told him, "Humans could see you."

Barricade tilted his head. "What are humans?"

"Small organic bipedal organisms," she explained, "They're covered in skin and filled with blood. This is Earth and they're the natives of this planet."

Barricade stared down at his foot and suddenly looked embarrassed. "Oh. I stepped on a few of those," he admitted, "I thought they were parasites."

Arcee's optics widened in disbelief; Barricade seemed so ashamed about that, but not because he realized the extent of what he had done. No, he looked like a little school bot who'd been caught doing a childish prank and nothing more. Well, she couldn't have him running around doing that.

"Come with me," she said, "We need to find a place to hide you for now."

Barricade followed her-and she kept her weapons trained on him-but looked confused all the same. "Hide me?" he asked, "Why? Am I in trouble?"

"No. You just can't be seen by humans. It's a part of our code."

"Why?"

"Because not all humans are as friendly as the ones we know."

"Why?"

Arcee glared at him. "Stop asking why. I don't know everything."

"Sorry."

O

Arcee was fortunate to find an abandoned warehouse and she led Barricade inside. He took a moment to survey the scene before looking at her curiously. She folded her arms across her chest and frowned at the thoughtful look on his face.

"Is this where you live?" he asked.

Arcee shook her head. "No. I live somewhere else."

"Then why am I staying here? Can't I come with you?"

Arcee grimaced slightly. "No. I'm afraid you can't."

Barricade shrugged his shoulders. "Why?"

Arcee wanted to tell him about the fact that he was a Decepticon, but that could cause problems at the moment, problems she didn't need. She could have explained it later when she brought Ratchet to check his damages and see what was wrong.

"I'll talk about it in the morning, okay?" Arcee suggested, "Just stay in here and don't come out."

Barricade climbed onto the floor and looked at her with a small smile. "Thank you."

Arcee seized slightly, just as she was about to leave. She had never heard Barricade utter those words before, even before the war when they were on good terms. It sounded so strange and foreign on him that her spark twisted. She looked back at him and nodded her head.

"I'll be back in the morning," she said.

He nodded in acknowledgement and shut his optics, just as she pushed the door of the warehouse shut.

Arcee rode back to the base and paged Ratchet. "Ratchet? You there? You're not going to believe what I just found..."


	3. Taking Risks

**Mnemonic**

**Disclaimer: **This idea has utterly PLAGUED me from the start of Barricade being announced in the Prime game. The game hasn't been released as of yet, but dammit, I can't wait. So let's keep this fic at an AU status, just to be safe. Hell, crack pairings are definition of AU. LOL. Anyway, there may be some little naughty bits in here, but we'll see where that goes. This is based off of his design and since I really hated how they disposed of some of the cast, it'll take place between season one and two.

_"The heart that truly loves never forgets."_

-Unknown Proverb

_"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."_

-Kevin Arnold

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"So much for closure."_

-Arcee, Transformers Prime

**Taking Risks  
**

Barricade's optic pupils flicked back and forth as Ratchet shined a light into them, ordering him to follow.

"His sense of perception seems fine," Ratchet replied.

Arcee shrugged her shoulders. "He doesn't remember anything. What do you think caused it?"

Ratchet frowned thoughtfully. "Barricade took a nasty fall at the summit. That may have been what caused his amnesia."

Barricade looked at them both in confusion. "I remember climbing out of that gorge," he said, "How did I even get there?"

"I shot you," Arcee replied, rather bluntly.

Barricade looked shocked now. His optics widened. "Why would you do that?"

Ratchet looked at her expectantly. Arcee glared at him before she stared at Barricade. She took a deep inhale before explaining. "Look, you're supposed to be the enemy here," she told him, "I shot you because you tried to kill me."

"I did?" Barricade asked, stunned.

Arcee looked at Ratchet. "We could take him back to base and hide him there."

Ratchet stared at her in disbelief and held up two hands. "Are you insane?" he snapped, "Regardless of the fact that he has lost his memory, he's still a Decepticon! What makes you think bringing a 'con back to our base is a good idea?"

"It's that or leave him to be captured by MECH or seen by other humans," Arcee argued, "Look at him."

The two looked over at Barricade as he started exploring the warehouse of its abandoned contents. He picked up an old bumper and studied it in his hands. He held it up to the two with a smile of pride on his face. They returned the smile half-heartedly and nodded, indicating that they also shared the sentiment with him, even though a simple vehicle bumper was really nothing to be proud about in the slightest.

"He's a walking disaster," Arcee continued, "We can't have him running around."

Ratchet gave her a skeptical look. "And you're sure that this has nothing to do with the fact that he was once your former lover?"

Barricade smiled at Arcee; he was standing beside them now. "I was?"

"Yeah, you were," Arcee replied, staring up at him, "But that was before you decided to turn on me and choose the life of my enemy instead."

Barricade's smile faded and he looked guilty now, even though he didn't know what he was guilty for. "Oh...Um...I'm sorry."

Ratchet scowled at Arcee now. "Even if I somehow found this insane idea credible, we can't risk having him learn the secret to the location of our base!" he snapped, "And we would have to discuss this with Optimus and the others first."

"Alright then, let's have them brought here."

Despite Ratchet's argument, the other Autobots were summoned to the warehouse. Not a single one of them could believe Barricade's condition and Bulkhead was the least gullible to fall for it. Optimus appeared to be doubtful and Bumblebee was of course completely against the idea of having Barricade brought back to base. However, Optimus seemed more willing to hear about the plan rather than toss it out entirely.

"While Barricade may have suffered amnesia, bringing him back to the base is highly questionable," he said.

Arcee nodded her head. "I understand. But having him walking around causing trouble isn't exactly a choice either," she pointed out, "The 'cons may or may not have already ruled him out as dead, so we don't need to worry about them and a memory lapsed Barricade all at the same time."

Bulkhead sighed, disappointed with that. "That's true..."

Optimus looked at Barricade for a brief moment before he nodded his head in agreement. "Very well. Barricade can come with us."

The other Autobots looked stunned.

"Optimus, you can't be serious!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

Bumblebee uttered a collection of beeps and whirring sounds, expressing his shock as well. Optimus looked at them briefly before he turned his attention to Arcee.

"Barricade will be monitored constantly and kept under your watchful optics, Arcee," he told her.

Arcee looked momentarily surprised. "Optimus, I'm not a babysitter."

"Those are the rules if he is to come with us."

Arcee heaved a sigh. "Fine."

O

Barricade couldn't stop gaping when he stepped into Autobot Outpost Omega One. Jack, Miko and Raf were equally shocked by his arrival, but more about the fact that a Decepticon was standing in the Autobot base more than anything.

"So...he really doesn't remember anything?" Jack asked.

Barricade leaned forward, studying the human children with intrigue. His optics landed on Jack. "So this creature is a 'Jack'?" he questioned.

"Well, his name is Jack," Arcee explained, "He's a human. And the other two are Miko and Raf."

Miko waved cheerfully. "Hello!"

Barricade continued to study the human in front of him for a long moment. Jack seemed to be a bit uncomfortable with the intent, violet stare and frowned up at him.

"What?" he asked.

Barricade arched an optic ridge and tilted his head. "You're so small."

Miko and Raf giggled at that. Jack simply blushed with embarrassment.

"Okay, Barricade," Arcee said, gesturing with a flick of her head, "Come on. Let me show you where you'll be staying."

Barricade nodded his head and straightened, following her down the hall. The others watched them go; they looked so strange together, walking side-by-side. Barricade appeared to slouched a bit, fidgeting before he looked down at her.

"I am grateful for your help, Arcee," he said.

"Whatever," Arcee replied coolly.

Jack looked up at Optimus now, concerned. "Uh, Optimus?" he questioned, "I don't want to question your leadership or anything like that, but is it really a good idea to have Barricade here in the base? What if he tries something?"

Optimus nodded his head. "You are right to be cautious, Jack. However, I don't believe that Barricade is currently the enemy as of now." He paused and watched as Barricade and Arcee disappeared into a room. "This may be a perfect opportunity to reeducate Barricade on the difference between right and wrong. If we can spare him from Decepticon hands, then maybe we won't have to be enemies any longer."

Miko frowned thoughtfully. "Wait. Isn't that...lying?"

As they continued talking, Arcee was showing Barricade around his room. He stood in the doorway, observing her as she straightened several old crates and containers. It wasn't much but an old storage chamber that they were originally going to use for Wheeljack, but he was hardly around anyway, so what did it matter? It was better than having him stay in the warehouse where he could be seen or captured by MECH. After she was sure everything was out of the way, she turned to Barricade and gestured with her hand.

"Come on," she said.

Barricade slowly stepped inside. "So you really live here?" he asked.

Arcee nodded. "Yeah. It's pretty much home."

"So you live here with all of them?"

"Yeah. They're my partners."

Barricade frowned thoughtfully, as if he was thinking about that. "Do you belong to one of them?" he asked.

Arcee looked stunned before shaking her head. "No! Not at all!"

He was silent for a while before faintly nodding. A small glimmer of satisfaction seemed to touch his face, though she didn't know why. "Okay."

Arcee was relieved to get that question pushed aside and gestured to the room around her. "Okay, it's time for you to get yourself some recharge," she told him, "You've taken quite some damages, so you need a little more to heal up."

Barricade shook his head. "I don't wanna go to sleep."

"Tough slag," Arcee snapped, "You have to rest."

Barricade gave her a frustrated pout before climbing into a comfortable spot on the berth and sitting at the edge. Arcee moved forward to study his damages. So far, it appeared that his natural biological function was healing them all quite nicely.

"Everything's healing pretty good," she said, "Now, lay down and close your optics."

"No, I don't want to." Barricade protested.

Arcee sighed impatiently. "If you stay awake, you're going to get weaker and weaker."

"I'm not a sparkling," he argued quietly, "I know what could happen."

"Fine," Arcee snapped, shrugging her shoulders in a blunt display, "You can deal with it yourself. I'm not your babysitter."

She turned to leave and Barricade looked at her. "Wait."

Arcee paused at the doorway and frowned back at him. "What?"

"Can you stay with me?" Barricade asked, "Please?"

Arcee looked surprised by the question and felt her spark jerk at the sight of his pitiful, pleading gaze. For a moment, she wanted to indulge his request, but shook that off and inwardly chastised herself for it. _Get a grip, Arcee. _

"I can't stay, Barricade," she finally said, "I have stuff I need to do."

Barricade nodded his head, though he looked mildly disappointed. "Oh..."

"Now sleep," Arcee ordered gently, "I don't want to have to come back in here."

Barricade sighed and climbed properly into the berth before eventually falling into recharge. Arcee watched him with a weak sensation in the pit of her internals. Despite his amnesia, she remembered that goofy, rattling snore he used to do when they were together. He was doing it now with his hands twitching at his sides.

_Primus...why are you doing this to me?  
_

O

The following day, Arcee was left alone with Barricade at base, much to her dismay. Optimus and the others ventured out to an Energon reading and she was ordered to keep watch over him. It wasn't that much of a problem, except that Barricade continued snooping around out of sheer curiosity. She had to constantly tell him to keep out of certain things to avoid having anything broken. He was worse than Bulkhead.

"Arcee..." Barricade said.

They were sitting in the control hub while Jack, Miko and Raf were playing video games. Arcee was trying to watch, but found the game to be utterly boring in comparison to anything else. She didn't see why Bulkhead or Bumblebee liked them so much.

"What is it?" she asked, not looking up.

Barricade stared at her sadly. "Do you hate me?"

Jack blinked and the three kids stopped playing long enough to look up at Arcee to see her reaction. She frowned, conflicted and turned, trying to keep a calm persona. "What kind of question is that?" she asked, her tone harder than intended.

Jack looked at the other two. "Hey, guys?" he said, "Maybe we should go for a walk."

They departed, leaving Arcee and Barricade alone. Arcee hadn't answered his question and shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like how it was making her feel. She wasn't used to feeling so off-base around anyone.

"I don't hate you, Barricade," she snapped.

Barricade shook his head and looked at her with mild uncertainty and sadness in his gaze. It was so foreign on him. "But I can see that you don't like me," he said, "You're angry. I did something to you that I can't remember, but you can."

"That was the past, Barricade."

"Then tell me about it."

Arcee took a deep intake before she shook her head. "We just went out separate ways," she said, slightly more gentle this time.

Barricade tilted his head with interest. "Did we fight a lot?"

Arcee actually smiled now. "Believe it or not, no we didn't," she replied, trying to turn her attention to something else to avoid looking at him; talking about this sort of thing was actually making her uncomfortable, but she didn't want him to see that, "Not at first, anyway. When the war came, you chose Megatron and I chose Optimus."

"So it was mutual?"

"You can say that."

"Hm."

Barricade seemed to consider something before he smiled at her. "I must have been quite foolish then."

"Foolish? Foolish for what?"

"Choosing someone else over you."

Arcee looked startled by that comment. She watched as he made his way into the hall and couldn't hear his request for Energon over the roar of her own pounding spark in her audios.


	4. Opening Old Wounds

**Mnemonic**

**Disclaimer: **This idea has utterly PLAGUED me from the start of Barricade being announced in the Prime game. The game hasn't been released as of yet, but dammit, I can't wait. So let's keep this fic at an AU status, just to be safe. Hell, crack pairings are definition of AU. LOL. Anyway, there may be some little naughty bits in here, but we'll see where that goes. This is based off of his design and since I really hated how they disposed of some of the cast, it'll take place between season one and two.

_"The heart that truly loves never forgets."_

-Unknown Proverb

_"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."_

-Kevin Arnold

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"So much for closure."_

-Arcee, Transformers Prime

**Opening Old Wounds**

The Nemesis passed silently over the summit where Barricade had fallen. Megatron was overseeing the Eradicons as they dug their way around, looking for signs of the fallen mech. Knock Out couldn't help but question Megatron's sudden insistent motive for having the need to find him so badly. He expected to be struck for his presumptuous question, but Megatron actually answered it without such a reaction.

"Barricade was carrying vital Decepticon information on his arrival here, Knock Out," Megatron explained, "An intelligence roster of every living Decepticon in the universe. If I could contact them, I can bring forth an army capable of crushing the Autobots."

Knock Out blinked, surprised. "I see."

Then, Airachnid made her way up to them. "Lord Megatron," she said, "I've pinpointed Cybertronian footsteps. The tracks are still quite fresh."

"And where do they lead?" Megatron asked.

"South of our current position."

Megatron smiled. "Excellent."

Airachnid was pleased; after all, who better to track down anyone than herself? She was a master of her craft. Behind her, Breakdown had caught the sight of Megatron's approval to her and uttered a disgusted snort.

"Suck up," he snapped.

Airachnid flashed a smirk as she sauntered off. "Jealous, muscles?"

"No!" Breakdown yelled after her.

Megatron paid no mind to the banter. He turned to Knock Out. "Bring everyone back to the ship," he ordered, "We're moving on."

"Of course, Lord Megatron."

Meanwhile, Barricade was studying the television screen as Miko flicked through channels, giving him a bit of information about each and every commercial, show and advertisement that came on. He seemed genuinely interested, so he listened intently to everything she said. Optimus was the only Autobot not present as he had taken a drive.

"This is called a concert," Miko told him, flicking to a band playing on the screen, "Don't be fooled; not all concerts are good. Sometimes they like to trick you with location too!"

Barricade frowned thoughtfully. "So what kind of music do they play?"

"All kinds!" Miko said, smiling, "I'm a rock fan myself."

Barricade smiled. "There is so much more to the human world than I thought," he murmured, "It's quite fascinating." He paused and watched Raf who sat at the console, typing on his computer. "So the young human is Raf, the tall skinny one is Jack and you are Miko. And the plump, hairy creature who comes here is Fowler? Is he like a pet of yours?"

Miko snickered loudly and even Raf couldn't stop the laughter that spewed forth. Arcee actually couldn't resist her smile.

"Close enough," Miko told him, after laughing a bit.

Bulkhead watched the scene with disgust. He didn't seem thrilled with the fact that there was a Decepticon here to begin with, regardless of the fact that he had lost his memory. He shook his head and took a step forward.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is insane?" he demanded.

They all looked up at him. Ratchet had his head buried in a microscope, but spoke without looking up.

"Bulkhead..." he warned.

Barricade looked up at him, mildly alarmed. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You know what I fragging mean!" Bulkhead snapped, glaring down at him, "Just because you can't remember anything; that doesn't mean the rest of us don't! I've seen what kind of bot you are in the field! You single-handedly took out one of my closest Wrecker comrades! He was wounded and you pulled him apart for fun!"

Barricade's optics widened and needless to say, the others were stunned as well.

"Bulkhead, that's enough," Arcee ordered.

"I-I don't remember doing-" Barricade began.

"I _know_ you don't!" Bulkhead was almost shouting and it started frightening Miko a bit, "But I saw you! Let's not forget the Autobot sparklings you've killed! Yeah, we have archived reports that can back it up!"

Barricade looked so confused and mildly upset. "I killed little ones?"

Arcee stood up and gestured for him to go. "Barricade, why don't you go find some Energon?" she suggested, "I'll have a word with Bulkhead about this."

Barricade nodded, though he looked like someone had punched him in the stomach several times for no reason. He walked away and as soon as he was out of audio shot, Arcee glared up at Bulkhead with annoyance. He shrugged his shoulders calmly.

"What? I'm just being honest!" he insisted.

"What did Optimus just tell us this morning?" she demanded, "Did you think your little tirade was helping? We all know what he's done! But how does that change anything when he doesn't even remember?"

"And I guess you so easily forgave what happened with Tailgate?"

Arcee froze and a cold chill filled the air. Ratchet looked up with shock on his face. She took a moment to stare at the green Autobot in confusion before her optics narrowed. She struggled to calm the ice filling her Energon lines at the mention of her deceased lover before glaring up at Bulkhead.

"What do you mean?" she said, "Airachnid killed him."

Bulkhead looked mildly surprised before shaking his head. His anger cooled a bit. "When I was running with the Wreckers, we picked up a Decepticon transmission. Barricade had given the location of Tailgate's position and ordered that you be spared. Airachnid wasn't making any promises, but you know how she is. That was when I contacted Cliffjumper to get to you first. I was out of range and wouldn't have made it in time."

"And you didn't tell me this?"

"We thought he was dead. We didn't think it would matter."

The silence in the room that followed was unbearable. Jack looked up and noticed Arcee's horrified, wounded look. She appeared to be in such shock, she wasn't moving. Her hands clenched into fists and shook at her sides.

"Arcee?" Jack said, cautiously.

Miko rose and cleared her throat. "Wow, did it just get extra awkward in here?"

O

Arcee stormed into her room and frantically paced around. She was a raging storm of anger and pain and could not believe what she had learned. Airachnid may have been the one who murdered Tailgate, but it was because of Barricade that she had been placed in the situation to begin with. That was what he meant when he asked how Tailgate was. He was simply mocking her and knew exactly what he had done.

"Son of a glitch!" she whispered, her voice shaking with rage.

Arcee couldn't stop herself from punching her wall, over and over again. Pain shot up her arm, but she had to vent out her anger and she had to do it NOW. She continue punching, grunting with effort until her knuckle joints began to bleed Energon. Arcee barely noticed the pain and slid to her knees, moaning with raw anguish. She was so angry, she couldn't see straight and before she realized what happened, she fell asleep in recharge, lying on the floor of her room.

Even in sleep, Arcee could not control the direction her mind went.

_Arcee rode recklessly down the Iacon streets, narrowly missing several Cybertronians in her path. They yelled furiously after her, but she didn't care. She was late as it was and had no time to stop and apologize. But the sounds of sirens behind her left her with little choice._

_"Scrap..." Arcee muttered._

_Barricade was in pursuit of her and she eventually stopped, transforming and glaring at him as he transformed as well. His lips curled with dismay and he shook his head. Arcee put her hands on her hips and waited expectantly._

_"Why is it every time I find trouble, you're the one I run in to?" Barricade asked._

_The two stared each other down for a long time and then started laughing as Arcee's face broke out into a smile. _

_"I'm late, Barricade," she said, "I have an intelligence report to deliver to Alpha Trion." Her voice grew slightly teasing. "But then again, you always managed to make sure that I am, don't you?"_

_Barricade let out a deep chuckle. "Perhaps."_

_"And how would you like me to pay for this speeding violation?"_

_"Tonight, we can discuss it thoroughly."_

_Arcee smirked at him. "I look forward to it."_

The dream shifted a bit to Arcee discussing her relationship with Jazz and Chromia.

_"He's too old for you, Arcee," Chromia insisted._

_Jazz seemed to be all for the relationship. He just laughed and shook his head, flashing her a thumbs up. "Hey, I saw go for it, 'cee," he told her, "If that grumpy bucket of bolts is into you and you're into him, it's all the better."_

_Arcee gave them both a sarcastic smile. "Thanks. I'm glad I have my parent's permission."_

_"I'm just saying," Chromia protested, "A bot like him... He's just bad news, I think."_

_Chromia had no idea just how right she had been._

When Arcee awoke from her dream world, her hand was in excruciating agony. Groaning with dismay and pain, she stood up and walked out of her room to find Ratchet. He was annoyed and surprised by the damages.

"Arcee, what did you do?" he snapped.

"I punched my wall," Arcee shot back, "Just fix it."

Ratchet rolled his optics. "I don't have time to fix battle damages and self-inflictions, Arcee. Whatever your problem is, you should be talking it over instead."

"Stop acting like my father and just fix my hand."

Ratchet sighed impatiently and began to work on repairing the crushed joint knuckles. It didn't take long to fix and there was little damage that would require anything serious. Once the repairs were made, Barricade stepped inside, completely unaware of what had happened.

"Did you know that-" he began.

Arcee took one look at him and punched him in the mouth. Barricade staggered back, gripping his jaw with one hand. He blinked rapidly and grimaced with pain before he stared down at his hand where a puddle of blue had formed. He looked up at Arcee with confusion and shock, Energon trickling from his lower lip.

"W-What did you do that for?" he asked.

Arcee glared at him before stalking off.

O

After taking Jack to school the next day, Arcee was glad when she didn't feel as angry as she had before. Of course, she wanted to do nothing but destroy Barricade for what he had done, she was torn because he didn't even remember a thing. So doing something like that would only put her in the wrong and Tailgate would still be dead. Now that she knew who was responsible for his death, it did take a greater burden off of her shoulders, but she still felt hollow and angry, if only just a little.

When she returned to base, Barricade was waiting for her. He was alone, which surprised the Autobot.

"Barricade," she said, transforming, "What are you doing? I thought I told Ratchet to keep watch over you while I took Jack to school."

Barricade looked at her sadly. "Did I really do all those terrible things your friend said I did?"

Arcee wavered a bit at the question before she sighed and nodded. "Yeah. You can even check the archives if you don't believe us."

Barricade took a deep intake of air before he closed his optics. "Then your pain is my fault," he said, "I have brought on your suffering, and the suffering of many others..." He sighed and shook his head with self-loathing. "I deserve this punishment. I deserve to be alone for what I have done."

Arcee rolled her optics before taking a spot beside him. "What you did was inexcusable, Barricade," she told him, "But you can't remember anything, so it doesn't make a difference if you're repentant or not. You can't feel shame for something you don't remember doing."

"But I do," he argued, looking down at her-and he really appeared to be, "I do because they happened regardless of my memory loss."

Arcee sighed once more.

They were silent for a while.

"Sorry about your face," she finally said, "I guess I need to work on my emotions."

Barricade smiled slightly. "Maybe I had it coming..."

Arcee actually laughed a little. She should have felt bad for doing so, but she couldn't help it. Talking like this did ease the tension between them a bit. She never knew or foresaw herself talking like this with a 'con, regardless of the past they once shared.

"Arcee..."

She looked up at him and he gave her a look that was intense and true. "I am truly sorry for Tailgate," he said, "And for everything else I've done to wrong you."

Arcee's humor faded and she felt her spark tighten again.

_Primus, don't make this hard for me, please..._

"Well, I guess I should be sorry too," she replied.

"For what?"

"For everything."

He nodded an affirmative before they sat in silence.

It felt nice for a change.


	5. Foolish Little Act

**Mnemonic**

**Disclaimer: **This idea has utterly PLAGUED me from the start of Barricade being announced in the Prime game. The game hasn't been released as of yet, but dammit, I can't wait. So let's keep this fic at an AU status, just to be safe. Hell, crack pairings are definition of AU. LOL. Anyway, there may be some little naughty bits in here, but we'll see where that goes. This is based off of his design and since I really hated how they disposed of some of the cast, it'll take place between season one and two.

_"The heart that truly loves never forgets."_

-Unknown Proverb

_"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."_

-Kevin Arnold

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"So much for closure."_

-Arcee, Transformers Prime

**Foolish Little Act**

The following days that passed grew to be much more tense for the Autobots than before. Barricade was growing increasingly frustrated with his being confined to the Autobot base. He wasn't permitted to leave and failed to understand why that was. No one explained it to him and it only made matters worse. As he attempted to leave the base, he was stopped by Arcee.

"Barricade, where are you going?" she demanded.

"I have to go out," he said, his voice mildly tense.

Arcee shook her head. "You can't do that."

"Why?" Barricade snapped, whirling on her, "You claim to want to save me, but you are treating me like I am your prisoner!" His vehemence startled Arcee and the kids beside her, as well as Bumblebee, who stepped forward. Barricade ignored him as he continued, frowning intensely with impatience and confusion. "I want to go out and drive for a little while. I can't stay here for another nanoklick any longer!"

For a moment, the Autobots were sure that he would do something very...Decepticon in nature, but Jack interrupted the argument with a weak smile.

"Hey, maybe he can come with us to the carnival," he suggested.

Arcee scowled down at him. "What?"

"You have to keep watch over him all the time, right?" Jack pointed out, "Maybe he can come with us."

Barricade looked satisfied with the idea. He glanced at Arcee expectantly and she sighed, rolling her optics. "Okay. Fine then."

Bumblebee uttered a whirring sound of disbelief and folded himself into his vehicle form. Arcee did the same and Barricade followed. Miko whistled at the sight of his impressive alternate mode and nodded her head.

"Wow, looking smooth there, Barricade!" she said, flashing a thumbs up.

Barricade sounded rather lost. "Um...thank you?"

Arcee leaned slightly to the side on her tires. "She was complimenting you..."

"Ah."

Miko joined Raf inside Bumblebee and Jack climbed on Arcee before the three raced off into the night. Barricade followed the two Autobots, curious about this "carnival". It sounded strange, but the humans seemed to be thrilled about it, so perhaps it was meant to be fun.

When they arrived at the carnival, Barricade took a moment to observe his surroundings. Many smaller humans were with their parents, taking them to tents and strange circular rides. Everyone was happy and laughing.

"So...this is the carnival?" Barricade questioned.

"Sure is!" Miko announced, stepping out of Bumblebee, "Looks fun, huh?"

Barricade grunted slightly, taking notice to two children devouring cotton candy like animals. "Indeed..."

Jack observed the three Cybertronians. "Okay, we're going to be a few hours," he told them, "You don't have to stick around. When we're ready to go, we'll phone you."

"You got it." Arcee replied.

As the kids walked off, Barricade took a moment to watch as Jack met up with a female. She seemed happy to speak with him and he sheepishly scratched the back of his head before they walked off together.

"Hey, Bumblebee; head back to base," Arcee told her friend, "Barricade and I'll stick around for a while." Bumblebee whirred, slightly concerned and she sighed. "Don't be ridiculous. I'll be fine."

It took a moment before Bumblebee finally drove away, leaving the two alone. The silence was practically maddening.

"You're too quiet," Arcee said, "I'm not used to you being like this."

"I'm thinking, that's all," he replied.

Arcee chuckled softly. "The real Barricade I knew would-"

"Stop that."

Arcee was surprised by his tone. It wasn't angry, harsh or biting, but just sad and disappointed, laced with mild annoyance. "Stop patronizing me," he murmured, "I am the real Barricade. Just because I lost my memory, that doesn't make me a child."

"I'm sorry."

They were silent again before Arcee spoke. "What do you want me to say?" she asked, quietly, "What do you want to hear that'll make you feel better?"

"I'd like to go for a walk," Barricade replied.

The offer was completely out there and it surprised Arcee. "Really?"

"Yes. With you." Barricade paused and sounded reluctant now. "Is that okay?"

Arcee wanted to come up with any excuse that it wouldn't be alright, but she couldn't come up with any. "As long as you promise not to do anything stupid." she warned, "I will help you understand a few things, but if you do anything-and I mean ANYTHING to break any of that, then I'm going to blast a hole right in your chest. You do not touch me or try to kill me."

Barricade sounded offended. "I wouldn't harm you."

"I'm serious, Barricade."

"I promise."

"Good."

O

After much hesitation, Arcee and Barricade took a walk outside of human eyes. She spent the time talking to him about questions he had regarding their life on Cybertron and what he had "missed". Barricade seemed eager to learn more, so Arcee wasn't entirely argumentative about it.

"What was it about me you liked?" he asked, curiously.

Arcee chuckled softly and shrugged. "Well, maybe it was the fact that you treated me more than just another piece of aft," she explained, "You were a real gentlebot. Not like most mechs I crossed paths with." She paused for a moment before chuckling sheepishly. "It was your optics too. I always found them attractive for a bot."

Barricade smiled. "Really?" He cleared his vocals then after a moment of awkward silence. "Hm. You deserve to be happy, Arcee."

Arcee's optics widened slightly and she sighed. "That's also the problem," she said, "You'd never be this open before either."

Barricade frowned thoughtfully before smiling. "Maybe I was just a blind fool."

Arcee didn't respond to that.

They remained silent for a while, standing there and observing the stars overhead. It was Barricade who broke the silence.

"Did you love me?" he asked.

Arcee blinked, startled. "What?"

"Did you love me?" Barricade repeated, looking at her now.

She shook her head. "You never liked saying it."

She was dodging the question and he knew it.

"That's not what I asked."

Arcee frowned at him. "Then you're being pretty fragging rude and you shouldn't ask those kinds of questions," she snapped, suddenly feeling very defensive, "I already told you that the past was past and we shouldn't keep dwelling on it."

"Maybe I think you're afraid to tell me."

"Maybe you're being pushy and irritating."

"And maybe-"

Barricade suddenly cut himself off and looked up, catching sight of Knock Out speeding toward them.

"Lord Megatron, I have located Barricade!" Knock Out announced through his COM-link.

_"Excellent. What is his status?"_

"He appears to be...with the Autobot Arcee..."

Barricade frowned and stepped in front of Arcee as Knock Out transformed and readied his prod. He smirked nastily and it crackled with energy. "Excellent, Barricade. You've brought an Autobot with you," he said, "Megatron will be most pleased."

Barricade knotted his brow. "Who?"

Knock Out blinked, startled for a moment. "You're kidding, right?"

Barricade's optics narrowed before he looked at Arcee. "Who is this bot to you, Arcee?" he asked.

Knock Out scowled. "Barricade, it's me! Knock Out!" he snapped, "You know me!"

"I do not know of you, Cybertronian," Barricade argued back, his shoulders square in preparation for a fight, "And neither will I allow you to do any harm to Arcee. If you are an enemy of hers, then you are an enemy of me."

Knock Out stared at him for a long moment before nodding his head, finally understanding. "The fall..." he pondered to himself.

Arcee readied her weapons. "Stand down, Knock Out," she warned, "You won't get another warning."

"Good," the Decepticon spat, moving forward.

When he swung his prod to attack, Barricade grabbed it with one hand and shoved his fist into Knock Out's midsection, drawing a startled, wet grunt from the Decepticon. He tumbled backwards and Barricade tossed the prod at him with a scowl.

"Walk away," he warned, "The next time, I won't be so friendly."

Knock Out staggered to his feet and snarled, retrieving his prod. "This isn't over."

Barricade showed his fangs in a threatening grimace before Knock Out transformed and drove away. Arcee relaxed her shoulders and her guns transformed back into her hands. Barricade looked at her with a glimmer of worry.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Arcee nodded. "Yeah. But Optimus is going to want to know about this."

Barricade frowned curiously. "Why does he want me?"

"You were his comrade."

Barricade looked confused and shook his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Arcee sighed and transformed. Barricade followed suit. "We need to get back to the carnival to keep watch over the kids," Arcee told him, "Just in case Knock Out or any of his 'con buddies try anything stupid."

O

After the carnival and sending the kids home, Arcee immediately reported to Optimus what had happened. He was troubled, but quite impressed with Barricade's attempt to protect Arcee. Needless to say, Bulkhead was the most shocked by this.

"We are fortunate that you were there, Barricade," he told him.

Arcee sighed indignantly. "I could have handled him myself."

Barricade just smiled at her. "You're welcome."

Arcee rolled her optics and looked up at Optimus. "I'm going into recharge," she told him.

Barricade followed her as they departed from the room. Bulkhead waited until they were out of audio shot before he looked up at his leader. "Optimus, can you believe it?" he said, chuckling in disbelief, "Barricade stood up for Arcee? I might be losing it, but...maybe he's not playing games after all."

Optimus nodded his head in agreement. "Barricade has never been one to take the time for similar schemes, Bulkhead," he replied. His optics flickered with a glimmer of hope. "Perhaps this will be a good opportunity to finally change him for the better."

Meanwhile, Arcee was walking to her room when she stopped and looked up at Barricade. "Why did you do that, Barricade?" she demanded.

He blinked. "Do what?"

"Stand up for me against Knock Out."

Barricade looked confused. "Because he was going to harm you."

Arcee scowled angrily. "You KNOW that he would have tried to kill you if he wanted to, right?"

"Yes."

Arcee scoffed in disbelief. "I want to know why you did it," she snapped, "The REAL reason why."

Barricade didn't exactly like having his motives questioned and it showed by the scowl on his face. "I don't understand why you're angry with me," he protested, "I didn't want him to harm you." A weak smile lit his lips. "I mean...I like you, Arcee. You make me feel happy."

Arcee's optics widened slightly and she wavered a bit, stunned by the confession. She shook her head and her words nearly exploded out of her with effort. "Barricade, that's very wrong," she whispered, "You can't like anything about me."

"Why not?"

"Because we're supposed to be enemies!"

"Says who?"

Arcee was stung by the question for a few moments before she scowled and turned to go. "You're such an idiot," she snapped, "I'm not going to stand here and let you give me-" Barricade took her arm, preventing her from leaving and she glared back at him. "You let my arm go, or your face won't be the only thing I'm going to hit next."

Barricade looked saddened. "I don't understand," he protested quietly, "You claim that we're supposed to be enemies, and yet...I see nothing that proves such an ideal. I like you and you-" He smiled, slightly shy, "-I assume don't feel as negatively about me as you claim. So why do we have to be enemies? I could never harm someone as..." He cleared his vocal processors slightly. "...as beautiful as you, Arcee."

She wavered under the intensity of his stare and shook her head, pulling her wrist free. He didn't even argue or try to stop her. He just watched her with a sad, disappointed look. It wrenched her insides tight and made her feel hot.

"Because I can't do that again, Barricade," she finally said, "I can't put myself in the place to lose someone else, especially since..." She sighed and shut her optics, fighting to control her intakes from choking. "Especially since you have no memory of me."

Barricade blinked slightly in surprise before he took a careful step forward. "Perhaps I can make new ones..."

When he got closer, he leaned his head forward, optics asking-no _pleading-_with hers for permission. Arcee's own widened and she felt the pull first, though her mind screamed horrid warnings. _Stop it, you weakling. Don't do this. You know it's wrong. You're only doing it because you want someone. You miss the closeness. Stop it, before it gets out of control._

It was too late to pull away when his lips lightly touched hers. She let out the lightest of moans, realizing that the others could come around the corner at any time. No sooner had Barricade touched his mouth upon hers, he pulled away and looked slightly horrified.

"I should not have done that..." he whispered, "Forgive me for-"

Arcee gave his shoulder a slight push and her voice came out low, but strained. "Go to your room, Barricade," she ordered, in a flat tone.

Her voice unraveled his composure. "A-Arcee, forgive me," he pleaded, "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Just go!" she barked.

Before Barricade could protest, she was already in her room and slammed the door shut behind her, practically in his face. Barricade stood there, stunned by what had just happened and Bulkhead peered down the hall, frowning curiously.

"Hey! Everything alright down there?" he called.

Barricade blinked, forcing the hot lump that had formed in his intakes down. "Y-Yes!" he called back to him, "Everything's fine!"

Behind the door, Arcee heard Barricade lingering on the other side.

"Arcee?" he said, quietly, "Can you please open the door?"

She shut her optics and covered her mouth with one hand, trying to keep her frantic sounds down.

"I'm sorry, I did not intend to upset you," Barricade continued, "I'll leave you in peace if you wish it."

_You didn't upset me._

Again, she couldn't bring herself to answer. She wanted to, but couldn't.

"You don't have to answer me," Barricade said, his voice pitiful and spark-broken, "I'll leave you alone now..."

She heard the sounds of his retreating footsteps and slumped against the wall. Arcee knew that she couldn't let herself experience the tiniest of feeling for him again. Even if he was right here before her. He had offered his emotions to her and she pushed them aside, inadvertently hurting him again.

_That's right. You destroy everything you touch. _

_You deserve to be alone._


	6. Innocent Delusions

**Mnemonic**

**Disclaimer: **This idea has utterly PLAGUED me from the start of Barricade being announced in the Prime game. The game hasn't been released as of yet, but dammit, I can't wait. So let's keep this fic at an AU status, just to be safe. Hell, crack pairings are definition of AU. LOL. Anyway, there may be some little naughty bits in here, but we'll see where that goes. This is based off of his design and since I really hated how they disposed of some of the cast, it'll take place between season one and two.

_"The heart that truly loves never forgets."_

-Unknown Proverb

_"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."_

-Kevin Arnold

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"So much for closure."_

-Arcee, Transformers Prime

**Innocent Delusions**

Megatron wasn't thrilled with Knock Out's news.

"So...Barricade had no memory of you or any of us?" he growled.

Knock Out nodded his head. "Yes, that is correct, Lord Megatron," he replied, "Barricade didn't appear to have any desire to speak with me either. He was intent on defending Arcee as well and-" He cleared his intakes and gestured to the scratch on his abdomen, "-gave me quite the scratch."

Megatron curled his lips with disgust and a murmur of irritation. "Barricade's memory must have failed him after that fall. Can it be corrected?"

Knock Out nodded with a smile of pride. "Yes, It can. It won't require much," he assured him, "I can develop a driver that would correct his fragmented central processor. I'll need at least a few Earth days to manufacture it."

Megatron growled an affirmative. "Very well. But if Barricade cannot be cured of his amnesia, then he will no longer be seen as a Decepticon. I don't wish to waste any more vital materials than need be."

Knock Out looked surprised. "But what about the information?"

"I will find another way."

Knock Out was still at a loss as to how easily Megatron could detach from his troops, but that was always how he was. He constantly moved on, despite unfortunate setbacks. Barricade was a skilled fighter, but he understood that risking a lot to save one bot wasn't worth the waste of Energon or supplies.

"Of course, Lord Megatron," Knock Out assured him, "I'll get right on it."

Knock Out walked out of the central control room and he was followed by Breakdown and Airachnid.

"So, he didn't remember you?" Breakdown asked.

Airachnid sighed dramatically. "I've been attempting to forget myself."

Knock Out shot her a dirty look before he looked serious. "No. But Barricade's memory lapse won't last forever," he replied, "And neither will he remain wrapped around Arcee's sneaky little finger joint." He wiggled his pointer finger for emphasis.

Airachnid looked interested. "What do you mean?"

Knock Out laughed and stopped, turning to face her. "You remember getting that order from Barricade to spare her once you received Tailgate?" he asked.

"Yes?" Airachnid said.

"Well, turns out our favorite little interrogator was once the love toy to that two-wheeler," Knock Out said, smirking and wriggling his fingers in a suggestive sort of manner, "Before the war, of course. Maybe he wanted to make sure Arcee suffered for turning her back on him. That's probably why he wanted you to spare her from death, letting her watch as Tailgate bled his life away. Quite nasty if you ask me."

Airachnid smiled slightly. The idea was certainly wicked enough. "Really?"

"It's what_ I _would have done."

Breakdown grimaced with a disgusted shudder. "Gross..."

"So what does that matter now?" Airachnid asked.

Knock Out continued to grin. "I think Arcee's still got something for the old menace," he said, "I believe I could use it to my advantage."

Airachnid nodded fiendishly. "And I would certainly offer my assistance."

Breakdown shook his head with disdain. "That's great," he muttered, "While the two of you play 'breakup', I'm going to find something more important to do."

The two watched as he walked away.

"Like sit on your aft and break things?" Knock Out quipped.

Breakdown didn't look back and raised a finger. "Exactly!" he called back at him.

O

Miko was relieved to finally be out of school. When she returned to the Autobot base, she was surprised to find Barricade sitting alone, miserably fidgeting with one of Ratchet's spare parts at the table. She arched her brows and climbed out of Bulkhead.

"Hey, what's shaking there, 'cade?" she asked.

Barricade sighed. "Nothing."

Bulkhead transformed and frowned suspiciously. "What'd you do?" he asked.

"Nothing!" Barricade insisted, straightening in his seat, "At least...I hope it was nothing. I think I upset Arcee. She may not speak to me again."

Miko laughed and climbed up the stairs to the couch. "Hey, come on!" she pressed, "What'd you do that was so bad?"

"I kissed her."

Miko blinked, stunned and needless to say, Bulkhead was all the same. He scowled and advanced on the smaller mech. "You did WHAT?" he exclaimed, "Are you completely short on logic circuits? You're lucky she didn't take your head off!"

Barricade winced. "I know. It was dumb!" he said, "I just...I thought she may have..." He took a resigned sigh. "Never mind. I was stupid to do it."

Miko smiled brightly and straightened in the couch. "Don't sweat it, Barricade," she told him, "You just need some help from Miko; Romance Extraordinaire!"

Bulkhead groaned with dismay and rolled his optics. "Miko..."

"Come on, Bulk!" Miko said, flashing a smile, "I think it's kinda cute." She paused and thought about it. "In a weird, puppy-dog, sappy kind of way."

Barricade looked confused now. "I did not realize there were domesticated, Earth canidae and the fluid of xylem cells involved in such an endeavor."

Miko laughed and shook her head. "Wow, you really need more help than I thought..."

Meanwhile, Jack and Arcee were riding through town so Jack could pick up some snacks for when they returned to base. Arcee had seemed a little off that morning, so he decided to ease her mind by talking a little bit about his day. It seemed selfish in a way and surely she was getting tired of hearing about what his mother intended to do with the garage, but Arcee didn't complain about it even once, not even stopped him to talk.

"Arcee, what's going on?" Jack asked her.

"What?" she said, as they made their way back to base, "Nothing. Just...had a little accident with Barricade."

Jack frowned thoughtfully. "Did he try anything...uh...Decepticon-like?"

"No."

"Then what did he do?"

Arcee sighed and was silent for a while. "Kid, I think it's time I told you about the history we had together. Barricade and I were more than just acquaintances before the war," she explained, "We were together. Not bonded or anything like that, but we were-what do you humans call it?-hitting it off pretty well. It got serious for a while there and when it came time to choose sides, Barricade expected me to go with him. To Megatron. I told him I just couldn't do it. He didn't take it so well."

Jack blinked in disbelief. "So...?"

"So, lately he's been a bit more open than usual," Arcee continued, her voice dropping lower, uncertain, "I just...don't want to put myself in that position again. He's a Decepticon now and-"

Jack seemed to understand where this was going. "I understand," he replied, "You're feeling something for him again."

"It's not that simple."

Jack decided not to press the issue any further and simply replied; "Well, he doesn't remember being a Decepticon," he offered, "Maybe this is a chance for the two of you to start over."

Arcee did not respond. Truthfully, deep down in the pit of her spark, she did have some yearning for closeness; but could she really do it again?

O

When Arcee and Jack eventually arrived back at the base, Raf was there with Bumblebee, playing video games. Barricade and Miko where nowhere to be seen. Bulkhead was gone and Ratchet was standing over a microscope with Optimus.

"Where's Miko and Barricade?" Jack asked.

Ratchet waved his hand in the air. "Bulkhead went with them through the gate. Says they had something in mind for Arcee."

Arcee's optics widened and she glanced at Jack, confused and annoyed. "Where is he?" she snapped.

Just then, Ratchet turned to the warp gate controls and smiled slightly. "Ah, they should be back now."

Arcee glared at him and watched as he opened the gate. Jack watched as well as Barricade, Bulkhead and Miko stepped through, in conversation with one another. Bulkhead appeared to be amused and was laughing, giving Barricade several rough pats on his shoulder. Arcee couldn't believe her optics. A few cycles ago, he wanted to tear Barricade's head off. Now they looked like they were the best of friends in the universe!

"What the frag is going on?" she demanded.

Bulkhead looked up and smiled. "This crazy fragger led us to a hefty Energon mine before bucket-head could get to it!"

Barricade smiled and waved his hand in the air. "Oh, it was nothing." he said.

Arcee scowled and advanced on him. "All of a sudden you're sniffing out Energon for us?" she snapped, suspiciously, "Why is it that you didn't do it before?"

"Well, I-Uh..." Barricade began sheepishly, "It was actually found on accident."

Miko nodded her head eagerly. "Yeah! Bulk and I went off-roading. Barricade was bored sitting here by himself, so he came with us! We ended up in a weird valley and Barricade slid into some mud into a ditch and...well, the rest is history!"

Barricade chuckled, embarrassed. He reached behind him and brushed some stray mud off of his leg.

Arcee however, didn't buy it. "It's funny how you find us some Energon right after out little altercation."

Bulkhead scoffed with amusement and disbelief. "Arcee, we were there," he insisted, "It was an accident. He wasn't leading us anywhere."

"Whatever."

Optimus caught Arcee's tone and approached the scene. "We are fortunate that the Decepticons have been quiet these passed several cycles, but we will always keep our optics open," he assured her, "Megatron's never one to simply hide away forever, but for now, we could enjoy what Barricade has uncovered for us."

Barricade smiled. "Thank you, Optimus."

Optimus nodded and looked down at Arcee. "Perhaps we could use this moment for much needed rest," he advised, "We have all been without in some time."

Miko flashed a thumbs up. "Good idea!"

Raf smiled up at them. "I might know a good place."

O

Miko let out a yell as she performed a cannon ball right into the lake.

The Autobots watched as their human companions swam about in the waters of Lake Tahoe. Barricade observed salmon as they performed leaps upstream. He smiled in fascination and Raf was just stepping out of the lake, noticing the intrigued Cybertronian. He chuckled and walked over, tilting his head curiously.

"Those are salmon," Raf told him.

Barricade watched them constantly. "Quite interesting," he replied, "Why do they swim upstream like that?"

Raf crouched down near the stream. "It's called 'the Salmon Run'," he explained, "Salmon migrate up here from the ocean waters so they can swim swim to the upper reaches of rivers where they spawn on gravel beds. After they spawn, they die and the cycle keeps on going. They always come back to the place they remember being born."

Barricade frowned. "So, they travel such a way only to expire?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"Seems so unfortunate," Barricade murmured, his optics flickering with pity, "To go at such lengths to return to your place of memory, only to die?"

Raf nodded his head. "That's a lot like life," he told him.

"Hey! Barricade!"

Barricade and Raf looked up as Miko surfaced from the water, laughing. "Come on! Check out the water!" she yelled, laughing, "I found some really cool rocks down here!"

He laughed and shook his head. "No thank you," he said, "I don't want to drown any trees."

Arcee watched the interaction between Barricade and the children. It make her spark feel a slight sense of hope at how easily they spoke with one another. Perhaps things could be better if he remained with them, like this. As their ally and even... Maybe...

_Stop being so desperate, you fool. It's just been some time since you've had a chance to feel happy like this again. That's all it is. You're trying to feel comfort in an old relationship. And he's still a Decepticon, no matter how you look at it. So you can't-_

"Arcee?"

She snapped out of her daze and looked at Barricade now standing beside her. He gave her a small smile. "Hello," he said, "I had hoped that I could properly apologize for what happened the other cycle. I didn't mean to scare you."

Arcee scowled at him. "And I told you; you didn't scare me."

"Then what did I do to wrong you?" he asked, frowning, "I could fix it."

Arcee gritted her denta and turned, glaring at him. "Come with me."

He blinked, surprised as she practically dragged him deeper into the forest, outside of the optics of her friends. Once she was certain their conversation would not be caught, Arcee turned and faced him. For a moment, she looked like she was ready to explode, but instead, relaxed and sighed heavily.

"Barricade, look at this," she said, gesturing to the Decepticon logo on his chest.

He did as she said and frowned, not really understanding.

"And look at mine." She indicated her Autobot logo.

Barricade nodded. "Yes...we share different markings."

"And do you know what they mean?"

"No."

"It means we are meant to be enemies. It means that even if..." Arcee cut herself off and struggled to contain her vocals before continuing, "Even if I still had some crazy, insignificant connection with you, we're always going to be enemies in the end. Do you understand?"

Barricade stood there, pursing his lips in deep thought. "They are simple markings. How can they separate similar beings?"

Arcee laughed sadly. "They can in more ways than you know."

"So...if I did not have this mark, you would no longer see me as your enemy?"

"It's...a little more complicated than-Barricade!"

Arcee watched in shock as he started to make an attempt to remove the branded Decepticon logo in between his chest plates. He was trying to scratch it off with his claws, but only succeeded in hurting himself. She reached out and pulled his hands away.

"Barricade, stop!" she ordered, "It's not that simple!"

He looked at her with intense sadness in his gaze. "I don't want to be your enemy, Arcee. If this is what it takes, then I will change it."

Arcee blinked once. Twice. She stepped back from him, releasing his arms and her voice burst out of her in shock. "Barricade...you don't know what you're saying."

"Yes. I do."

"No...No, you're not in your right mind."

"Maybe I am," Barricade argued, "Maybe I feel happier this way."

Arcee grimaced and closed her optics. "Barricade..."

_He's so innocent about this. He's...different. I don't know how to feel about this. I really like this new Barricade, but I can't... I can't do this. If I do..._

"It's wrong, Barricade," she finally said, "It's wrong to..."

Barricade knotted his optic ridges and leaned forward, asking silent permission. She met his gaze and found herself unable to stop herself any longer. _Oh Primus...I can't fight this..._ When she didn't push him away, Barricade kissed her forehead. A strange and gentle benediction that she wasn't used to that felt light and soft against the metal skin of her face. Arcee leaned her head forward and gave him a proper kiss on his lips instead. The action made his chest swell with a deep rumble of relief and he reached up slowly with one hand, taking great care in not to frighten her by lightly brushing her cheek with one claw.

Once they parted, Barricade's optics closed slightly and he smiled down at her. She sighed and returned the smile slightly.

"Okay, Barricade..." she whispered, "Okay."


	7. Evening Melodies

**Mnemonic**

**Disclaimer: **This idea has utterly PLAGUED me from the start of Barricade being announced in the Prime game. The game hasn't been released as of yet, but dammit, I can't wait. So let's keep this fic at an AU status, just to be safe. Hell, crack pairings are definition of AU. LOL. Anyway, there may be some little naughty bits in here, but we'll see where that goes. This is based off of his design and since I really hated how they disposed of some of the cast, it'll take place between season one and two. M part AHEAD! Smut ho! *Raises sword like a pirate*

_"The heart that truly loves never forgets."_

-Unknown Proverb

_"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."_

-Kevin Arnold

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"So much for closure."_

-Arcee, Transformers Prime

**Evening Melodies**

_The sounds of war echoed all around._

_Arcee made her way through the missile-battered streets of Iacon City, struggling to see through smoke and debris from laser fire. She narrowly missed another shot from a Decepticon warship passing overhead before taking cover inside the ruins of a bar. Much to her shock, she found Barricade there as well, somewhat wounded but in one piece. His optics narrowed when he saw her and he gestured for her to take cover behind the counter with him._

_Arcee immediately jumped over and joined his side. When she saw the Decepticon logo on his chest, her spark sank at the sight._

_"Barricade..." she breathed._

_He looked at her harshly, but didn't appear interested in engaging her as an enemy. "I see you've made your choice as well?"_

_Arcee had almost forgotten as she stared down at her own Autobot marking. She closed her optics, unable to look at him. "I told you what I wanted," she said, calmly, "I told you I wasn't going to go to Megatron."_

_Barricade snorted with contempt. "So you didn't even give me any consideration, I see..."_

_"That's not true and you know it!"_

_"Do I?" Barricade hissed, facing her completely, but still keeping himself hidden beneath the bar counter top. His violet optics flickered with a mixture of anger and regret. "After all, you chose Optimus. I suppose that means what we shared meant nothing. So how should I take such an action then? Just by your word alone?" He smiled coldly at her silence, but there was a wounded bitterness there as well. "Will you say nothing then? Will you not prove me wrong?"_

_Arcee glared up at him. "I had to do what was right."_

_"And to the Pit with me as well, then?"_

_She uttered a scoff. "You always knew how to be a total glitch when things never went your way."_

_"And you were always so happy to fight with me."_

_Arcee scowled now. She felt an urge to power her weapon, even though her spark was twisting into knots at this. "I don't want to do this, Barricade," she snapped, "I don't want out last conversation to be with us fighting."_

_Barricade gave her a icy smirk in response. "Look at your marking, Arcee. We always will be now."_

_She sighed with regret and attempted to keep her voice calm. "You're right. I guess this is goodbye then."_

_Arcee started to go, but Barricade took her wrist and pulled her back down. Before she could protest, he had his arms tightly around her and pressed his mouth against hers. Arcee uttered a muffled gasp of surprise and squirmed against him for a few moments until she realized and sensed the need in his kiss. It seemed that he was trying to hold onto her for as long as he could. She always enjoyed his kisses; they were so powerful and arousing. _

_When he parted, his lips hovered inches over her own and he leaned his forehead against hers as well. _

_"Stay..." he whispered, "Stay."_

_Arcee moaned softly. "I'm sorry...I can't."_

_His next whispered words hissed out of him like a tire losing air and he spoke through gritted denta. "I will not beg you!"_

_"Barricade...I can't," Arcee pleaded, "I'm sorry. I made my choice. You made yours."_

_He eventually parted from her and gave her a look that seemed to contain the raw, tormented beast within. He stepped back a bit and gestured with a cold snort. "Go then."_

_Arcee stood up and made her way to the bar's exit. Her spark felt a black stab with Barricade's next words._

_"When you see me again, do not hesitate to shoot."_

O

Arcee awoke from her recharge dream with a grumble, placing a hand over her face. She looked up at the ceiling of the Autobot base for a long moment, pondering those last words she had said to Barricade before they went their separate ways. Before she had thought that he died in Kaon. And now he was back, asking her for a chance to show her his feelings. Maybe she was being given a second chance to feel again.

Arcee decided to get up and not dwell on it anymore. She walked out into the control room, finding Barricade observing the children in the middle of watching what looked like a human film. He looked up at the sight of Arcee stepping in and smiled.

"Arcee! Did you sleep well?" he asked.

She nodded. "More or less."

Jack looked up at her. "Optimus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead were sent out to another Energon reading."

Arcee scoffed and rolled her optics. "Yeah. Must be nice."

"Actually," Barricade told her, "They left you this time because Optimus felt like you needed rest."

Arcee looked slightly surprised at first before she sighed and shook her head. She didn't enjoy that sort of consideration; it made her feel weak. "Of course..." She turned to go. "I need to get some Energon in me. Anyone else need any while I'm up?"

Barricade straightened. "I haven't had some in a while."

"Come on then," Arcee said, gesturing with a flick of her head.

Barricade followed her to the Energon storage vault where she took a container of treats and two large barrels of Energon for the both of them. She then led him to the top of the base where they could see the spectacular view of below, standing against the walls of the base. Barricade maintained a safe distance from the edge to avoid, "another unfortunate fall". Arcee found this sort of funny, but didn't dare mention it as it didn't seem to be in the best of taste.

"Where did these come from?" Barricade asked, gesturing to the treats between them.

"Ratchet made them," Arcee explained, with a small smile.

"Oh." Barricade was silent before chuckling slightly. "They're good."

The two observed the view and Arcee sighed, a contented smile touching her lips. "I like to come up here sometimes."

Barricade looked at her curiously. "What do you do?"

"Think."

"Oh..."

They were silent again and Barricade looked up toward the sky. He chuckled softly and Arcee looked at him with amusement. "What?" she asked.

"Do you ever think about it?" he asked.

"About what?"

"Home."

Arcee's amused look disappeared slightly and she sighed, nodding. "Yeah. All the time."

"It's a shame," Barricade replied, sadness in his voice, "What war brings." He took a drink from his barrel.

"You don't know how right you are..."

Barricade let out a sigh of relief once he finished his Energon and smiled at her. "Perhaps a chance of atmosphere might help." Arcee took one look at him and could not stop the small sputter of laughter that escaped her lips. Barricade tilted his head with an inquisitive smile. "What?"

He didn't see that Energon dripped down his lips and across his chest. A memory filled Arcee's mind of when she had been with him at a bar in Iacon and he had spilled his drink all over himself in the middle of a brawl. She had found the situation too comical because he and his assailant had both become so soaked in Energon and food, their fight had looked more ridiculous than anything else. She remembered that he was irritated by her laughter as well.

"You don't want the others seeing you like this," Arcee told him, making a move to wipe the Energon from his chest.

"Arcee?" Barricade said, paying no mind to her cleaning. "How did we first meet?"

She paused and looked up at him. "Really, you want to know about that?"

"Yes. I'd like to know."

Arcee chuckled softly. "I was young and foolish and I guess I was out looking for trouble one night," she admitted, "I went to a bar in Kaon and got in a scrap with two big femmes. I was taken into custody by security and that was when you showed up once I was sent to the Iacon station." She laughed slightly. "Well, you told me 'I never want to see you in here again', but somehow after that, we ended up running into each other a lot."

Barricade smiled. "That sounds nice."

"It was," Arcee replied, reaching up and brushing some extra Energon still at the corner of his mouth, "It really was."

Barricade stared down at the hand against his face and he closed his optics, lightly kissing her fingertips. The touch left a tingling heat through her hand and a warmth pooling in the center of her abdomen and she murmured something inaudible. Barricade looked at her with bare intrigue and leaned forward, just the slightest. Her own optics widened a bit at the motion.

"Arcee?" he asked, quietly, "May I kiss you?"

_Yes. You most certainly may. _But she didn't say that exactly. "Why?" she asked. _Stupid. You know why. You're just a coward._

Barricade blinked in mild surprise before he smiled. "Because I feel like I want to."

After a moment of hesitation, Arcee tilted her head up in silent invitation and he slowly moved, watching her reactions as her optics closed once their lips made contact. The kiss was slow and gentle, their lips moving in almost lazy, undulating trails. Barricade nuzzled her mouth with his, silently urging her to deepen the kiss. She parted her lips as well and all at once, the world around them suddenly grew hotter. Their cycles of air grew more labored and louder as their kiss intensified.

Arcee's mind warned her to stop before things got out of control, but her spark protested the thought of it. She just wanted to surrender and give in to it. Her body was already starting to react to the intense kiss and prickling heat danced through her neural pathways. She knew she should have stopped, but her body-the one that had been without the touch of another for so Primus-forsaken long-rebuked her mind's commands.

Her arms slipped around his shoulders to steady herself as she responded further to the kiss. Barricade uttered a pleased murmur against her mouth and at the feel of her hands against him, felt encouraged to touch her as well. His sharp claws moved down her neck, across her shoulders and finally settled around her waist.

Their lips parted and they stared at each other, breathless cycles of air bursting from their vents. Barricade's optics darkened slightly and he leaned his forehead against hers. He appeared to be internally struggling to contain himself.

"I could never be worthy enough for you, beautiful Arcee," he breathed.

It was strange hearing him say that. Even with amnesia and despite being true to his spark, Barricade's natural gruff voice didn't exactly match up with the purity and innocence of those words. It sounded bizarre to hear it because no one had actually called her "beautiful" before. Tailgate was always pretty romantic, but he'd never called her than because he mentioned not wanting to have her feel off about it. Barricade was the first.

"Maybe you need to quit thinking so less of yourself," she replied, giving him a faint, entranced smile, "It's pretty pitiful."

Barricade couldn't resist the small laugh. "Forgive me..."

"Stop apologizing."

Instead of responding to that, Barricade leaned forward and lightly kissed the underside of her chin. She tilted her head back to give him more access. His mouth was warm and the unexpected sensation of heat surged through her circuitry. Another sensation filled her; the feeling of complete and utter want. His claws moved up and down her body before one hand cupped her thigh and lifted it slightly. Arcee watched him curiously before he smiled at her.

She frowned, slightly dizzy from their kiss. "What?"

Barricade said nothing, but slowly started to kiss his way down her neck, moving further to her heaving chest and even lower. When Arcee realized what he was going to do, her optics widened before she shut them, slapping a hand over her mouth to silence the loud gasp when he knelt down on his knees and kissed the armor covering her interface. Without a moment of hesitation, the armor of her midsection folded away, exposing her interface equipment in a way that hadn't been exposed for a long time.

Barricade smiled at the sight. "How long has it been?" he whispered, optics flicking up to hers.

She scowled slightly, but didn't want to really admit it. Finally, she sighed and nodded. "Too long."

"Good. Then this will be quite a thrill for the both of us," he purred.

Arcee shuddered with a gasp when his mouth contacted her exposed port. She almost fell over if it wasn't for the wall behind her due to the fact that Barricade had one of her legs hanging over his arm. He made sure she was watching as he dipped his glossa into her port. The response he received was Arcee trying to restrain a moan, but all that emerged was a low, yet obviously pleased whimper. His glossa began an erotic dance within her, flicking and probing.

"Primus, Barricade," she gasped, one of her hands gripping the side of his helm.

His ministrations created a sweet, intense heat throughout her lower body. When he intensified the pressure of his glossa, Arcee could not stop the moans that escaped her louder now and the involuntary twitch of her hips. She was almost embarrassed by the lubricant forming between her legs, but Barricade did not let up, only whispering something about how much he enjoyed the taste of her. Arcee had always felt at odds about how she looked or tasted to a mech. Not because she didn't enjoy this, but those thoughts were always in the back of her processor.

Arcee felt a tightening in the lowest part of her, threatening to explode. When it did, she cried out and arched her hips toward his mouth. Luckily, he was holding her or she would have simply fallen under the onslaught of her overload wracking throughout her body. He stood up and slipped his arms around her, planting a fierce kiss against her lips. Arcee could still taste some of her own fluids on his mouth as aftershocks washed through her, leaving her shaking in his arms.

"How was that?" he asked, smiling.

Arcee smirked up at him. "You've more talent than I took you for."

Barricade realized that she was toying with him and he feigned an indignant smirk. "Oh, is that so?" he said, his fingers moving down to lift her thigh open again, "Perhaps I should continue with something a little more..._vigorous_."

It took Arcee a moment to register the world around her again when she heard his own pelvic armor clicking and his spike emerging from its confines. He lifted her slightly so that he positioned his pelvis beneath her own. Hissing slightly, he brushed his spike against her port. Arcee let out a gasp and arched her head back, mumbling a pleading curse when he began to do it again and again, brushing against her, but not penetrating just yet.

"Barricade...!"

He smiled, though his optics clouded with lust and his voice deepened further into a sensual purr that she remembered from long ago. "Feels nice, doesn't it?"

Was he actually teasing her? That was so unlike what she was used to from him, but Arcee wasn't about to be teased. She reached down and grabbed him, drawing a sharp gasp from his lips. She met his gaze with her own and smirked deviously, voice mixed with warning and playful seduction. "And if you keep teasing me, I can promise you're going to regret it."

Barricade just laughed softly; it wasn't like his usual dry laugh. This one was dripping with fever and hunger. She remembered how it got that way when they'd coupled before in the past. Back before the war had made a mess of everything. She slipped her arms around his shoulders to hold herself steady before he leaned forward, whispering into her audio receptor.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

O

The other Autobots returned from their attempted excursion; Bulkhead had been wounded from the fight and Ratchet hurried to tend to him. Optimus had only sustained minor injuries that were not severe enough to require treatment. Bumblebee was also mostly unscathed. Unfortunately, they were unable to acquire any Energon during their mission.

"Welcome back," Jack had said, as they stepped into their base.

"Where's Arcee and Barricade?" Optimus asked.

Miko pointed upward with one finger. "They're out," she told him. Then, she grinned slyly. "Probably on a date."

Ratchet rolled his optics at Miko's assumption. "Arcee isn't so easily enticed by anybody, Miko. Especially a Decepticon."

Of course, Ratchet was wrong. Above them, Barricade had pinned Arcee to the floor of the roof, pushing into her slowly and gently. Her limbs were wrapped around him, hands working in every delicate dip and joint on his back. His thighs were beneath hers, rubbing and scraping their armor together. She uttered short, pleasured moans that were accompanied by his soft, erotic grunts upon each deep thrust. Each roll of his hips was long and deep and felt so good, but it was driving him insane.

"A-Arcee..." he whispered, burying his face in her neck.

"What?" she managed.

"I'm having-trouble holding back..."

Arcee's optics widened in surprise. He had been holding back the entire time? It occurred to her that perhaps he wanted to be gentle for her sake and she felt absurdly amused and touched all at the same time. Though his desire to be gentle was a bit ridiculous as she could handle a lot more than he gave her credit for. Deciding not to think about it, she let out a shrill laugh and leaned her lips close to his audio receptor, purring out her next words.

_"Then don't."_

"Are you sure?"

Arcee looked at him with incredulity and hunger. "For spark's sake, Barricade..." she mumbled, kissing his lips, "Do it."

Barricade looked down at her and a change went to his face then. He leaned his head down and kissed her passionately, his glossa twining with hers before he straightened up a bit and held one of her legs tightly to his waist. His hips began moving faster and at that new angle, his spike brushed against the sweetest spot within, drawing much louder moans from her. When she moved with him, Barricade hissed sharply, a particularly handsome growl following.

"_Primus_, yes," he growled.

Arcee felt her whole body buzzing with sensation. Tension was slowly building within her and she felt moments away from bursting apart with her imminent climax. The ridges of his spike scraped every single sensory node they could touch. The friction felt incredible and she didn't care that it would probably leave her slightly tender come the next morning. She didn't care that she was interfacing Barricade, a Decepticon. She didn't care if it could end poorly. Arcee was too far gone in her pleasure to care about anything else, but the now. THIS moment.

Barricade features were an erotic rictus of the purest pleasure, optics flaring. He was pushing in and out of her harder now and her port clenched around him each time he withdrew slightly, causing him to moan louder and shudder above her before burying his face in her neck.

"So close..." Arcee gasped, tilting her head back.

Barricade's mouth moved to her throat, nibbling and biting as he drove her closer to overload. It didn't take long. After several harsh thrusts and feel of his bites, Arcee tipped over the edge with an impassioned cry. Barricade soothed the bites with licks of his glossa before continuing to thrust into her. It didn't take long for him either from the intense sensation of her port squeezing around his spike. He uttered a deep, attractive moan before pulling her against him, spilling himself into her.

After he was satisfied, Barricade looked down at her with mild concern, his cycles of breath loud and labored in the night sky. "Are you alright?"

Arcee could only laugh softly and look up at him. "More than alright, you big idiot," she joked.

He grinned at her and carefully removed himself from her port. They closed their armor plating before deciding to hold each other in the aftermath. It was strange; Tailgate had always been much more vigorous from the start. It wasn't all that bad, but never did an interface with him leave her so...peaceful before.

Barricade rested his head against Arcee's chest and smiled, contentment in his voice. "Are you happy, Arcee?" he asked.

She chuckled softly. "Right now? Frag yeah, I am. But I'll end up being miserable tomorrow."

"Why do you say that?"

"It's how things go. One minute, you can be happy; the next minute you're miserable."

Barricade looked to be thinking about that before he sighed and there was a smile in his voice as he nuzzled her chest with his head. "I don't know about you, but I'm happy," he said, quietly, "I'm happy to be with you at all, Arcee."

"And it's insane."

"Then I'll gladly be without sanity."

Arcee felt a twinge of pain for some reason, but instead of letting this moment be ruined by it, she cleared her vocals. "We're messy," she told him.

He looked up at her curiously now. "Should we get up?"

"No. Let's lay here for a few minutes."

Satisfied, Barricade nodded his head and resumed his position on her chest once more. They watched the stars above in silence for a moment before Arcee spoke.

"It's beautiful, huh?" she said.

Barricade smiled at her. "Yes. Beautiful."

Arcee felt her face plates warm and she grimaced with a teasing, embarrassed laugh. She stretched her joins before wincing.

"I think I'm not going to walk right by morning," she muttered.

Barricade laughed gently. "Don't worry. If they ask, you could always say it was a battle infliction."

She stared at him in disbelief before slapping his shoulder. "And you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"I cannot lie. It would be amusing."

Arcee rolled her optics. "Okay, time to get cleaned up."

The two stood up and Arcee did feel a little wobbly in her legs, so Barricade helped her stand. He smiled down at her. "May I join you?"

"Seeing since you're the reason for my messiness, then yes. You can."

He chuckled warmly, the sound vibrating through her armor plating. Arcee watched him as they made their way down into the base. Her mind argued her logic for this as it always did. _Primus, you're insane. What have you gotten yourself into? Then again, he doesn't remember being a Decepticon, so does it matter? Yes, it does. He's still a Decepticon in their optics, Arcee. Maybe it doesn't have to be that way anymore._

_But it does._

_No. He's staying. That's all there is to it._


	8. A Planned Heartache

**Mnemonic**

**Disclaimer: **This idea has utterly PLAGUED me from the start of Barricade being announced in the Prime game. The game hasn't been released as of yet, but dammit, I can't wait. So let's keep this fic at an AU status, just to be safe. Hell, crack pairings are definition of AU. LOL. Anyway, there may be some little naughty bits in here, but we'll see where that goes. This is based off of his design and since I really hated how they disposed of some of the cast, it'll take place between season one and two.

_"The heart that truly loves never forgets."_

-Unknown Proverb

_"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."_

-Kevin Arnold

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"So much for closure."_

-Arcee, Transformers Prime

**A Planned Heartache**

Arcee felt happy in those days that ticked by.

She hated knowing that once she did, something could go wrong, but she couldn't help herself. Being here in her berth with Barricade in her arms just made her feel at peace for a change. It was a good feeling that she hadn't known in a long time. He was sleeping as she held him and Arcee took a moment to lightly pet his face. It did nothing to stir him from sleep and he simply mumbled slightly. She chuckled softly, recalling her first interface with him on Cybertron.

_"You seem content," Barricade said, smiling._

_They were lying in the berth of her apartment, just watching each other after their interface. Barricade seemed to be very pleased with himself and Arcee was completely ravished by his technique. She just laughed quietly with his words._

_"Content or fragged to exhaustion?" she teased, "Because you have enough power in you to knock out a harem of femmes."_

_Barricade smirked at her. "I take that as a yes."_

_Arcee rolled her optics with an amused snort and climbed out of the berth with him joining her. They entered her washing quarters and took turns cleaning each other. Arcee noticed the scratches that he had left on her legs and shoulders and even the small bites around her neck. Barricade kissed her neck gently and held her as the water rushed over their still-sensitive bodies._

_"Perhaps I should kiss them all away," he offered._

_Arcee just chuckled. "You just want to pull another overload out of me, don't you?"_

_"That is an outrageously true accusation."_

_Arcee gave his chest a slight push. "Well unless you want to explain to my boss why I'm late because I can't walk straight, then it's a no go."_

_Barricade uttered a false pout. "No fair."_

_She just laughed and gave him a kiss. "There's no need to rush into anything, Barricade," she assured him, "I'm not going anywhere."_

Arcee sighed and let that sink in. Truth be told, she had gone away from him and had broken a promise she had made. But what had he expected out of her? How could he have expected her to consider joining with Megatron?

"Arcee..." Barricade mumbled sleepily.

She smiled. "Hey, sleepyhead," she said, "Recharge well?"

Barricade laughed softly. "Indeed I did. Best I've slept since..." He trailed off and frowned thoughtfully, licking his lips. "Hm. I don't recall the last time I slept this well." His next smile was sweet enough to make Arcee's spark ache. "It's quite nice."

"Well, we can't sleep forever. Optimus wants us in the debriefing in a little while."

Barricade sighed with false sadness. "That's not fair. I want to have you all to myself."

Arcee couldn't resist a giggle. She felt absurdly childish for it, but for some reason, couldn't resist. _Good to see he's back to being that innocent brat I used to love so much... Maybe I still do..._ "Maybe tonight after our mission, okay?"

He smiled and nodded. "Very well then."

As soon as she wriggled out of his arms and climbed out of the berth, she felt a hand on her aft and arched her optic ridges. "Barricade..."

He laughed playfully. "Sorry."

O

The Autobots made their way into the canyon with Barricade at their side. Arcee was somewhat concerned because of the fact that he had little memory of his combat training. Barricade insisted that he could handle himself however and refused to be tied down while everyone else went their own way. Even Bulkhead expressed his concern for the Decepticon, which was a surprise for Arcee since he had never trusted him to begin with.

"Are you sure about this, Barricade?" Bulkhead asked the smaller mech.

Barricade nodded his head. "I'm going to be fine, Bulkhead," he assured him.

Bulkhead sighed. "Hey, uh...listen," he said, making sure the others didn't hear; he seemed reluctant to speak his next words, "I just want to apologize for being a pain in the crankshaft."

Barricade looked surprised at first, but smiled. "It's all right."

"Yeah, and I should also thank you."

"For what?"

"For making Arcee happy again," Bulkhead said, gesturing to Arcee ahead of them, perched at the edge of the canyon, "She hasn't been in this good a mood since...I can't even remember. It's been a long time, I think."

Barricade smiled thoughtfully as he considered Bulkhead's words. It made him feel considerably better about everything now. Bulkhead could see that there was genuine happiness in the Decepticon, amnesia considering. Optimus could have been right about giving the mech another chance. Then again, Optimus was ALWAYS right for the most part.

Below them in the canyon were several Decepticon miners drilling out an Energon pocket.

"We need that Energon," Optimus said.

Arcee nodded her head. "Give the word. I'm counting only ten workers. We can take them."

Hovering nearby in the clouds was the Nemesis. Knock Out was just unveiling his newest tool to Megatron; it looked similar to a data drive. Megatron regarded it silently for a moment before frowning down at the medic.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It will repair the damage dealt to Barricade's central processor," Knock Out explained, "The only concern is getting close enough to implant it directly into the base of it. After what Barricade did to me the first time-"

Megatron's gaze darkened impatiently. "You will correct this matter regardless of Barricade's retaliation. Do what needs to be done. Or _I_ will."

Knock Out thought about the possibilities about what he could do about it. A smile touched his face and he looked up at his lord with reassurance. "Not to worry, Lord Megatron," he said, "I may have an idea. But I'm going to have to make my way below."

Meanwhile, the miners, Decepticon drones and Autobots were in the middle of combat. Throughout the laser fire, Arcee raced by until she took cover beneath a rock surface. She was startled when Knock Out decided to show up, wielding his prod. She leveled her weapons at him and for a moment, neither one of them did anything. Knock Out just smirked and retracted his prod before holding out a hand. Arcee looked confused.

"What do you want, 'con?" she demanded.

"Simply to talk," Knock Out told her, "About Barricade."

Arcee looked at him like he'd just sprouted from Unicron's aft. "What?"

"You see, my favorite little nuisance," Knock Out began, "It's come to my attention that he's decided to stay with you. Quite charming I should say." He began to pace back and forth in front of her as she kept her weapons aimed at him. "It seems you've also taken to interface. Naughty, naughty." He chuckled as she instinctively touched one of her bite marks that Barricade had made during the heat of the moment on her neck. "Ah, no worries. I'm not a tattle tale. I was just curious how he took to the knowledge of being a Decepticon."

Arcee smiled angrily. "He knows and has decided to stay here with us."

Knock Out nodded his had with false sympathy. "Aww, but you see, he doesn't know any other way. If he instinctively knew that he had made the choice to side with Megatron, and that he performs much more as a Decepticon, he'd make that choice."

"You're wrong!"

"Am I?" Knock Out sneered, "But let's take a look at you, Autobot. You're attempting to manipulate him and take advantage of his amnesia, are you not?"

Arcee looked wounded for a split second before scowling. "No. It's not the same!"

"It is and you know it," Knock Out hissed, "You Autobots are full of hypocrisy. You sit there and go about telling all of us what liars, manipulators and thieves we are, but you've performed each indelible sin all in one shot! You've lied to him, manipulated his mind as you saw fit and stole his life away. The life he was destined to live! The life of a Decepticon!"

Arcee groaned and shook her head. "No. No, he's back where he belongs."

Knock Out smirked and reached behind him, taking out the drive that he had kept hidden. "I made this a few Earth days ago," he told her, "I made it to recover Barricade's memories and return him to the 'con he once was."

"And?"

"If you truly cared about him in the pathetic, pet fashion that you do," Knock Out said, "You'd let him decide the truth for himself as what he truly is."

Knock Out tossed the drive at her and she caught it instinctively in one hand. She stared down at it helplessly, unable to decide whether or not she wanted this. Knock Out just watched her for a moment in silence before he smiled.

"Take him to a place we can meet," he told her, "Once his memories have been repaired, his Decepticon signal will appear on my radar and I'll be back for him."

Arcee was still standing there when Knock Out transformed and drove away. She looked at the drive in her hand and clenched it so tight, it threatened to break. But then, Knock Out's words rang true in her mind. She didn't want to admit it, but something about what he said made her believe it and Arcee hated the very thought of taking Knock Out's words to spark.

_See? You got close and now look what's happening?_

_Shut up._

_No, you're going to lose him._

_You care about him, don't you? The red fool is right. You can't continue lying to him. _

_I'm saving him._

_No, you're hiding him away._

Arcee let out a moan of despair and shook her head, dropping to her knees as Barricade made his way up to her. He smiled cheerfully and failed to notice her sorrowful condition; he seemed too thrilled with the news he had.

"Arcee! We've taken the Energon!" he declared, "It's not much, but it's-Hey, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

He knelt down beside her and she quickly put on a half-hearted smile. "I'm fine, Barricade."

_Soon, you won't be._

O

The return to base was a joyous occasion, but Arcee took no part in the celebration. She simply sat at the side, watching as the others laughed and cheered for their small, but meaningful victory in their sparks. The kids were laughing and sharing jokes and Barricade was eagerly listening to them, especially Miko's humorous stories of how she constantly got into trouble. Arcee couldn't relax, though. She only watched, but saw nothing.

_Knock Out's right. That's what you're upset about._

_No. He's wrong. I can't let him go back._

_So you're going to lie to him some more and bend him to your will?_

_It's not like that!_

_It is like that and you know it._

Barricade looked across the mass of celebration to Arcee and smiled brightly, waving at her. She waved back slightly, but had no further interest in remaining and decided to return to her quarters for the cycle. Barricade watched her go worriedly and followed. Jack had seen the sight as well.

"Hey, what's with Arcee?" he asked, looking up at the others, "I would have thought she'd be happy."

Ratchet sighed and shrugged. "Who knows with her sometimes?"

Inside Arcee's room, she lingered in her berth with Barricade holding her. She wanted to protest such an action, but decided against it. He kissed her and she responded with mild desperation. Barricade was surprised by the action and looked at her with worry.

"Are you troubled, Arcee?" he asked.

She gave him a reassuring smile. "No. I'm just..." Arcee paused and gritted her denta, struggling to keep her voice calm before she kissed his lips. "I'm just happy to be here with you. I feel like such an idiot sometimes, but..."

Barricade interrupted with another kiss on her lips. "You're no idiot."

When he started to pull away, Arcee returned and kissed him back with much more fervor. Barricade murmured against her lips and pulled her into his lap, returning the kiss with passion and hunger that left her internals buzzing again. His own must have been rolling in kind as well because he slid his thigh between her legs and rubbed the interface panel slowly. It was warm, betraying her need as well. Arcee's mouth parted with a heavy gasp and she met his smoldering gaze with her own.

_I love him._

_Primus damn it, I love him._

"They'll hear us..." she whispered.

Barricade licked a sensitive coil of wire in her neck. "Then we'll just have to be quiet, won't we?"

Outside of the room, Optimus and the others were ignorant to what was going on. Jack was worried about Arcee however, and voiced this with the others.

"Maybe she's just tired," Raf suggested.

Miko laughed and shook her head. "Or maybe she wants time alone with her boy toy."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Miko, that's ridiculous."

"Aww, you're just upset because you don't know what's going on."

Ratchet rolled his optics now. "I say if Arcee's having no further concerns as far as her physician says, then it's not our problem to worry about," he snapped.

Meanwhile, Knock Out was proud to unveil his plan to Megatron.

"And you know that she will go through with it?" Megatron asked.

Knock Out chuckled softly. "I do, Lord Megatron."

Airachnid scowled at him. "You should have allowed ME the opportunity!" she snapped, impatience on her features, "When it comes to suffering, I can be quite the master."

"And as a master of suffering, you'd know there are many kinds," Knock Out argued, "The kind I'm looking for is far more personal and leaves a deeper cut than most." He smiled now. "After all, why kill your prey when you can play and draw out their torment?"

Megatron nodded his approval. "Excellent, Knock Out."

"Thank you. I've also included something else, in the drive. Something I haven't mentioned to Arcee."

Megatron arched an optic ridge. "And that is?"

Knock Out's grin became absolutely poisonous. "You'll see..."


	9. Forget Me Not

**Mnemonic**

**Disclaimer: **This idea has utterly PLAGUED me from the start of Barricade being announced in the Prime game. The game hasn't been released as of yet, but dammit, I can't wait. So let's keep this fic at an AU status, just to be safe. Hell, crack pairings are definition of AU. LOL. Anyway, there may be some little naughty bits in here, but we'll see where that goes. This is based off of his design and since I really hated how they disposed of some of the cast, it'll take place between season one and two.

_"The heart that truly loves never forgets."_

-Unknown Proverb

_"Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose."_

-Kevin Arnold

**By: VampireQueenAkasha**

_"So much for closure."_

-Arcee, Transformers Prime

**Forget Me Not**

There was no joy the next morning.

Arcee took Barricade to the abandoned warehouse where she had kept him hidden the first time she found him. Barricade willingly followed and it only made it worse for her because he was being so trusting. Even when she knew what was going to come out of it. Arcee didn't want to do this. She didn't want to lose him, but Knock Out was right. As horrible and sickening as it was for her to confess; he was absolutely right.

_I can't do this..._

Barricade smiled as he looked around. "It's strange that it hasn't been so long ago," he said, "Since you brought me here."

He had his back to her. Arcee smiled sorrowfully, glad he couldn't see her face.

"I thought you'd like to see it again," she told him.

Barricade seemed to sense something was amiss with her and calmly closed his optics. "Arcee, I want to stay how I am, but if it's this way that makes you happy, I'll be happy too," he told her, without looking back, "I won't fight."

Arcee groaned with anguish. "Stop making this harder for me."

"Arcee. I want you to know that I won't forget what happens here. I won't forget the impact you've made on me. I won't forget that I truly love you."

She squeezed her optics shut tight and let out an anguished howl before dropping the end of her weapon against the back of Barricade's neck, completely knocking him out. He crumbled to the ground, unconscious and Arcee bent down to him. She lightly stroked his face once before removing the drive and searching for a spot at the base of his helm. The drive snapped forward on its own, attaching before it flickered with various lights. Arcee stepped back to watch and wait.

It wasn't long before Knock Out arrived, smiling with satisfaction at the sight. Arcee kept her weapons trained on him, but didn't move.

"How long until he wakes?" Arcee demanded.

"A few more minutes," Knock Out said. He chuckled to himself and that made Arcee's internals tighten.

"What?" she demanded, "What's so funny?"

Knock Out grinned at her. "I'm sorry, it's just something I failed to mention to you."

Arcee's spark grew cold. "What?"

"It's true; Barricade will get his memories back and it will repair the damage done to his central processor," Knock Out explained, with a smirk on his face, "However... I never said anything about him remembering _you_."

Arcee's optics widened in horror. "What are you talking about?"

"I took steps. I made sure that Barricade would remember who he is, but I never said anything about remembering what he USED to be."

Arcee wanted to kill him. She wanted to tear that stupid smirk off of his face and beat him until he ceased to function. He tricked her. He lied to her. But really, what did she expect from him? Why was she so shocked? She aimed her weapons at him and started to power them up, but Barricade's soft groaning stopped her. Arcee watched with despair as his optics flashed bright and he regarded the situation around him with a frown. There was that cold, hateful facade of the mech Arcee had remembered in the battlefield.

"Knock Out?" he said, "Where am I?"

Knock Out helped him stand. "You're in good hands, Barricade," he assured him, "Come with me. I'll take you back to the Nemesis."

The crackle and glow of a space bridge opened up behind him and Knock Out stepped through. Barricade started to follow, but he stopped and looked back at Arcee; he regarded her with emotionless contempt. He didn't know her. There was no familiarity in that gaze. He just stood there, staring at her before following behind the red Decepticon. The space bridge winked out of existence shortly after, leaving Arcee alone in the darkness of the warehouse. Her optics were wide and unseeing, as if she couldn't believe what just happened.

The air was then filled with the furious, anguished wails of the Autobot.

When she returned to base, she was met up with the others, worry in their optics. Arcee didn't even hear their questions regarding Barricade's location. She didn't acknowledge the insistence of her comrades whatsoever.

"Arcee?" Optimus said, "Where's Barricade?"

She looked up at him with despairing optics. "I let him go."

O

Barricade returned to the Nemesis, kneeling before Megatron.

"You have been a prisoner of the Autobots, Barricade," Megatron told him, "Fortunately, Knock Out was able to retrieve you before things became...complicated." He considered Arcee as he said this, grimacing slightly.

Barricade nodded his head respectfully.

"Report to the medical bay," Megatron told him, "Then we may discuss business."

Barricade did this without question and reported to the medical bay for further scans. He rested himself onto a table and Knock Out performed them before smiling with pride. He took notice to Barricade's thoughtful look and tilted his head.

"What's the matter, Barricade?" he asked, "You're back here where you belong."

"And I am thankful for that, medic," Barricade growled, "But something puzzles me; what is the device you took from my neck?"

Knock Out chuckled softly. "Well, the device was used to repair your central processor," he explained, "I used it to get into your mind where the damages were done. The Autobots tried to manipulate you where I fixed you." He laughed to himself, and then tensed when he felt a cold barrel pressed to his head. Grinning nervously, Knock Out cleared his intakes and raised his hands. "Wow, okay. Um...listen Barricade; I don't know what's up your tailpipe, but-"

Barricade snarled at him and slowly sat up, still keeping the barrel to the medic's helm. Fury filled his voice. "You got into my head!" He thrust the weapon closer for emphasis. "NO ONE. Gets. Into. My. Head. NO ONE."

"But I took a risk getting you back!" Knock Out insisted, "You could have been their little plaything forever if I hadn't done what I did!"

Barricade glowered venomously at him before lowering his weapon. "If I find out you've done more than you say, I will pull you apart, limb by limb. Do you understand?"

Knock Out cleared his intakes. "I read you loud and clear, psychopath."

While this was going on, Arcee spent nearly half an hour hiding in her room and crying. She hated herself for it. She hated her weakness and hated the fact that she had lost another loved one. She hated this war. She hated everything right now.

"Arcee?"

It was Optimus.

"Yeah?" she called, wiping her optics.

"May I come in?"

"Sure."

Optimus entered her room and regarded her with sympathy. "Arcee. What happened out there?"

Arcee really didn't feel like talking about it; but if she had to, she rather it was with Optimus. "I had to let him go, Optimus," she said, her voice dropping lower; it was filled with restrained anguish and loathing, "I couldn't let him live a lie. If he was going to make any decisions, he had to do it as himself and not as someone we wanted him to be."

Optimus was impressed and it showed on his features. "I can't imagine how hard that was for you, Arcee; but you made the right decision."

Arcee exhaled and covered her optics with one hand, struggling to contain tears. "Then why does it feel like I messed up?"

_Because you lost him again. Even if it was the right choice, you betrayed yourself in the end._

Onboard the Nemesis, Barricade was watching Earth below with an impassive look on his face.

_And now we go back to war._

END


End file.
